Tomorrow is Just Over the Horizon
by Nj Nets Fan
Summary: This is a sequal to 'As The Waves Break'. so I suggest you read that story first! LilyJames, just after graduation from Hogwarts...the saga continues. Rated for teenagers.
1. Chapter 1

Tomorrow Is Just Over The Horizon: Chapter One

Lily heaved the trunk out of the car and shut the boot with a slam. She smiled gleefully as she turned and wheeled her luggage behind her, up the path and in through the open door of the large house. She reached the living room, where James was standing surrounded by mounds of stuff: boxes with scribbled writing and several other matching trunks like the one in Lily's hand. She dropped it next to a large cardboard box labeled 'CLOTHES' and grinned at James,  
"That's the last of it," she said, brushing her hands off, still smiling. She couldn't get this stupid grin off of her face.  
"Thank God, how do you have so much stuff, Lily! I don't think it'll all fit in the house!" James said, but he too, was grinning happily.  
"So, I guess I'm officially moved in and living here, huh?" Lily moved closer towards where James was standing among the boxes.  
He leaned in towards her and whispered, "I guess so."

A few hours later, Lily was still upstairs, hanging clothes in what was now hers and James' closet. He had moved his room to where his parents' old one was, which was much bigger, and definitely ideal now that Lily was living with him as well. He watched as Lily pulled out shirt after shirt and hung them with her wand. He watched as the slight muscles in her arms tensed and released as she lifted clothes out of the box and then flicked the end of her wand easily.

Next to the bed was a silver frame with a picture of James' parents in it. The picture was taken when they were about Lily and James' age, and his mother beamed at him from behind the glass, her smile wide and full of joy. She kissed his father on the cheek, and even in the picture his father blushed slightly. Both of his parents' eyes twinkled with delight as they sat on a picnic blanket in front of a large oak, feeding each other and enjoying their youth.  
Behind that picture was another one of his parents. His mother smiled at him again, but this time her face looked a little more strained and her smiled was slightly more agitated. She stopped for a minute at the desk she had been running in front of, and waved at her son. James could see small wrinkled lines appearing around her eyes as she blinked. James' father walked into frame and put his arm around his wife. He grinned out at his son and winked, and James could see the early signs of aging in his face, too. He guessed they were in their mid-thirties, and James was pretty sure that this was last photo his parents had taken together before his father's death, hardly a year later. Now his mother was gone, too.  
_I miss you guys, _James thought, as he studied their faces carefully.

"Done with the hanging of the clothes!" Lily exclaimed to him from across the room. James looked up to see her standing proudly in front of the now very full closet doors, grinning madly. He told himself to stop feeling sad about what had happened, and instead, be glad for what he had now.  
He sat up higher on the bed and smiled back. "Well done. Now come here!" he eyed her flirtatiously and she scooted across the rug and jumped up next to him on the bed.  
"I love you," he said, cupping her cheek in his hand.  
"I know you do," Lily replied mockingly, kissing him quickly. Suddenly, James grabbed her sides and flipped her over onto the bed. He jumped onto her and she squealed loudly.  
"James! Ahh, st-stop it! Ahh!" she screamed again. "Stop, ti-ckling me-e!"  
"Not until you say it back!" he yelled, tickling up around her chin and laughing as tears began to form at her eyes.  
"Never!" Lily managed to gasp out through the laughing.  
"Well then, there's only one thing to do," James had an evil look on his face as he let go of Lily's chin and began to move his hands towards her stomach.  
"Noo!" Lily gasped before he even touched her and tried to wriggle free. It was no use; James had her pinned to the mattress as he lifted her shirt and began to tickle her all over her stomach.  
Lily's squeals tore through the room again as he tickled her thighs and stomach.  
"Ok, ok!" she gasped finally, letting her limp and tired arms fall to her sides. James stopped tickling but kept his hands on her bare skin, ready to attack at any minute.  
"Ok what?" he asked shiftily, eyeing her carefully.  
"Ok, it's true," she said, her chest rising and fall as she gasped for breathe. "I love you, too." She was grinning as she said it, a pink twinge in her cheeks.  
James let go and pulled her shirt back down over her stomach. He crawled up next to her and lay down on the bed.  
He kissed her and then grinned. "I know you do," he said, mockingly. Lily lifted her hand to try and hit him, but found she hadn't the strength. Instead, she let her hand fall down to the comforter. She placed it on his stomach and closed her eyes. James placed a kiss on her forehead and put his arm around Lily, pulling her to him. He shut his eyes and they fell asleep together.

Ok, rules!

1. please don't correct my spelling/grammar…I have spell checked this but that doesn't mean I caught every little detail, and getting reviews that go 'in that third line, you should have said were, not was,' without any recognition to my work on the fic, really peeves me. K?

2. if I say something semi-muggle or something you don't think is right, please don't share that with me…I respect and encourage polite criticism, but yelling at me and telling me that wizards don't take pills is just not needed, because I wrote the fic, and that's the way I wrote it.

Pretty simple..i love readers, and I really hope you do like the fic and leave good comments!

Thanks,

Jes xo


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

That weekend, Lily and James were sitting at the breakfast table, eating toast and reading the Daily Prophet, when they heard a tapping on the glass. Lily looked up and saw a tawny owl sitting on their window ledge, two very official-looking letters on it's leg.

"Oh, terrific, our N.E.W.T. results are here," she said, hopping off her stool to let the bird in. James looked less than thrilled at the prospect of seeing his test results. Lily untied their envelopes and the owl took back off out the window.

Lily took her own letter and handed James' to him. She held her finger under the edge of the flap and breathed in deep. "You ready?" she asked James, who now looked like he might be sick.

"Do I have a choice?" he asked. Once they found out what their test results were, recent Hogwarts alumni would also find out whether their grades were up to par for their expected jobs. James already had a spot in the Ministry as an auror, but if his potions grade wasn't an O, he knew his offer would be revoked. Lily had offers from several school as a teacher, as well as at the Daily Prophet as a very high-ranking editor for the company and her backup was opening her own company down in Diagon alley.  
She smiled at James in what she hoped was a convincingly confident way and began to tear open her letter. "Here goes nothing!"

James slid his finger across the top of his envelope and pulled out the parchment. It was only one page of paper, but it felt like lead in his hands. he took a few deep breathes and unfolded his test results.

Before his eyes had even had a chance to fall past the top lines ("Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to say that your results have arrived...) and then down to where the scoring was explained -same as with their O.W.L.'s- he heard Lily let out a shrill scream of delight as she read her grades.

"Oh, James! I've got perfect marks! I can't believe it! How have you done!" she came running over, her grades still clutched tightly in her right hand, to read behind his shoulder.  
"I haven't had a chance to look yet..." he muttered, now turning back to his parchment and letting his eyes travel down to his marks.  
"You've got an O in Herbology," Lily muttered behind his head. "Not that you wouldn't've...but you know, that's really good."

Astronomy: O  
Ancient Runes: E  
Charms: E  
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O  
Herbology: O  
History of Magic: E  
Study Habits: A  
Potions: O  
Transfiguration: O

James breathed a sigh of relief as he finished scanning the list. Lily was congratulating him on a job well done and kissed him on the cheek.  
_Wait a second..._James thought to himself, and he quickly scanned back over the list, finally reaching it at the very bottom. _Potions: O? I got an outstanding in potions!_ He knew it was what he had really needed to have locked in to earn his spot in the ministry, but somehow he just couldn't believe he actually had.  
"Lily, I got the 'O' in Potions!" he exclaimed suddenly.  
"I know, it's amazing! Well done! Aren't you glad you studied so hard, now?" she replied, grinning brightly, happy that her nudging had paid off.  
"But, that means.." he started, but at that moment another owl soared in through the still-open window and dropped two more letters on the table. James grabbed his and ripped it open.

_Dear Mr. James Potter,_

_We at the Ministry of Magic have recently received your N.E.W.T. results and are very pleased to announce that you have been asked to join our team in the Auror division here at the Ministry!_

_Congratulations, Mr, Potter. The Minister of Magic requests a meeting with on Friday, the 2..._

James stopped reading the letter and jumped up from his seat. "I did it! I'm doing it; I'm going to be an AUROR!" he yelled in excitement. Lily beamed at him from where she sat, her large pile of acceptance letters lying have opened in front of her. She stood up and walked over to him, placing her arms around his neck.  
"I know, it's amazing," she said, staring up at him with her luminescent green eyes. "I mean, we're all going to be doing exactly what we always wished we could. Remus and I will be teachers in the fall, you're going to be my very own auror, and I've just got a letter from Sirius saying he's got the grades to do almost whatever he wants, but he's been offered that spot on the Chudley Cannons and the Belsize Boomers. He thinks he'll go for one of them instead of a regular job. And all my friends got their early acceptance letters before school ended, like Remus."  
"Oh, this is so- wait, what about Peter?" James asked.  
"Don't know. I haven't gotten anything from him. He's probably celebrating with his sister...I'm sure we'll hear soon," Lily replied, not too worried about Peter's grade results. "Oh," she said, suddenly remembering something. "I'm going to write to Sirius and Remus and Carmen and Liz and see if they all want to come to dinner tonight...a little celebratory feast I think?" she grinned.  
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Ms. Evans," James said, kissing her lightly.  
"Why thank you, Mr Potter. You know, I have a lot of good ideas up my sleeve," Lily cocked an eyebrow sexily.  
"I bet you do. But right now," James stopped and grabbed Lily up into his arms, "I think we have some celebrating of our own to do." James kissed Lily's neck and began to carry her towards the stairs.  
Lily put on her best southern-American accent, "Oh, Mista Potter, you are a bad , bad man!" and squealed as he raced up the stairs and down the hall to their bedroom.

That evening, Lily and James put on some fairly dressy clothes, Lily got a nice dinner ready and guests began arriving at 7 on the dot. James answered the door to see both Sirius and Remus standing on the doorstep, grinning at him. They had been sharing an apartment in London since the end of school, working part time to pay for rent.  
"Hey!" they all cried when they saw each other, and James stepped back to let them into the house. Sirius looked around, surveying the house.  
"I see you've redecorated a little," he said, motioning to the living room furniture and all of the windows.  
"Well, Lily decorated...I just watched," James replied, smiling a big smile. Lily emerged from the kitchen, her apron still on and greeted the boys merrily.  
"Sirius, James! How have you been?" she asked, happily. They each hugged and kissed her and assured her they were doing very well indeed, especially now that their qualms about their grades had come in.  
"Oh, we brought you this," Remus said, handing Lily a bottle of very expensive white wine.  
"Oh, thank you. But you shouldn't have," Lily said. "Really you shouldn't have. You two are both 17 still!" she chastised them, but accepted the wine all the same.  
"Well, he got you that," Sirius interrupted, jabbing his thumb at Remus. "I got you this," and he handed James a fresh bottle of vodka. "A house warming gift, if you will," he smirked.  
"More like a 'Sirius Warming Gift'," James joked, patting his friend on the back.

The rest of the evening was a smashing success, and ended with all six of them curled together in front of the television and the slowly-dying fire, passed out from too much drinking and sleeping soundly from a very, very good party.

Sosrry I haven't added in agessss…I meant to and..well..it's up now..enjoy! lol

Jes xoxoxo

oh, ps. here's the scoring system so you don't have to look it up

Outstanding: O  
Exceeds Expectation: E  
Acceptable: A  
Poor: P  
Dreadful: D  
Troll: T


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lily awoke the next morning and lifted her throbbing head. She sighed and slumped back down to the floor where she lay still for another minute in an effort to rid her head of the severe pain it was in. Finally, she reminded herself that this was her fault for drinking the night before, heaved herself off the floor with a great effort, and stood up. She had nudged Sirius as she stood, and he groaned loudly and turned over, laying his arm across Carmen's back, and fell back to sleep; Lily could hear him snoring behind her as she stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing her head.  
"Morning," James greeted her, appearing to be in only slightly better condition than Lily. He used his wand and tapped the kettle, which emitted a string of steam and began to whistle.  
Lily kissed him on the cheek in reply to his good morning and began setting out mugs on the counter. She placed them onto saucers and moved across the room to open another cabinet as James deposited instant coffee grounds in each of the mugs. Lily put two round Advil tablets onto each saucer and reached into the fridge to get the milk.  
"Make sure to get a strawberry yogurt out for Sirius, too," James said to her before she closed the door. Lily turned around to look at him; he was spooning sugar into one of the cups.  
"Why?" she asked.  
"Dunno, he just started doing it a few weeks ago and now he says he can't get over a night of drinking without his yogurt," James replied, putting the top back on the sugar and picking up the now-silent kettle.  
Lily turned back to the fridge. "Ok then" she said and grabbed a yogurt out before shutting the door.  
Lily followed behind James as he poured the hot water into the mugs and stirred, then Lily added the milk and placed three saucers on one tray and the other three on another.  
She placed Sirius' yogurt on her tray and followed James into the living room.

"Wake upppp!" Lily called as they entered the living room where their guests were still asleep on the floor. Sirius grunted and Carmen made to hit Lily from where she was on the floor, but instead her hand just rose a little into the air and then flopped back down. Liz was already up, reading in the corner, and looking quite cheery as she marked her page and came over to help distribute hangover kits.  
"Morning!" she buzzed, walking over.  
"This is when I hate you for not drinking," Lily said, but she was smiling as she passed Liz her coffee, the only one without the Advil on the her saucer.  
"Thanks, " she taking her mug and placing it on the lamp table. Then she brought the other cup and the pills over to where Remus was laying with his mouth open next to the television.  
Lily dropped down and nudged Sirius. He pushed her away and rolled over, mumbling something about 'go away...don't like you.'  
Lily turned him back over and forced him to sit up while James worked on Carmen.  
"Wakey, wakey, kids," she said. Sirius glared at her and held his hands out for the mug and medicine, which Lily handed him.  
"Just the way you like it: half coffee, half milk, 8 sugars...and a yogurt..." Lily added, and he forced a smile and thanked her. James had gotten Carmen to sit up as well, and she was now holding her own mug.  
Lily and James picked there coffees up and grinned.  
"Bottom's up!"

_2 weeks later..._

"Wake up, James!" Lily's eyes opened with a start as she glanced at the clock and realized what time it was. She shook James hard in an effort to get him up.  
James grumbled something and turned over.  
"James, you have your meeting with the Ministry Official today! In 20 minutes! You have to get up! NOW!" Lily continued to pushed on James, but he refused to respond.  
"Fine," she mumbled, got her wand off of the nightstand and flicked it abive James' head. A fountain of cold water poured out and soaked James, his hair, and his clothes.  
"AHHHH!" he cried, leaping out of the bed and glaring at her.  
Lily couldn't help herself but giggle a little.  
"What did you do that for!" he cried, looking down at his now-wet pajamas.  
Instead of answering, Lily threw him his wristwatch and lay back down on her side of the bed; she didn't have any meetings to hurry off to today.  
"Sht," she heard James swear on the other side of the room. She felt the watch drop onto the mattress next to her and heard James scuttle off to the bathroom. A second later she heard the water running in the shower and the muffled voice of James still swearing as he raced the clock to get ready in time.

James leapt out of the shower 5 minutes later and walked back into the bedroom, his body and hair dripping water everywhere. Lily was no longer lying on the bed; he assumed she was downstairs, getting some quick breakfast ready.  
He threw open the closet and found a pair of nice, black dress pants and his favourite blue button down-shirt. He threw them all and used his wand to get out the wrinkles in his shirt, found a matching tie, threw on his socks and shoes and walked downstairs.

James entered the kitchen to see Lily pouring herself a tall glass of orange juice. Another glass of juice was set down on the table next to a plate with two pieces of toast, topped with strawberry jam. Jame kissed Lily good-morning and then quickly begin eating his toast. He finished his breakfast quickly, gulped down the orange juice and walked into the adjoining room. When he returned, he was fastening his traveling cloak around his neck and was ready to go.  
He glanced at the clock.  
"6 minutes till'," Lily informed him, walking over to straighten his tie.  
"Good. Just enough time to apparate and still have a minute to get my bearings. Thank-you," he added as she smoothed his tie down and rebuttoned his cloak.  
"I should be back around noon, half past at the latest," he said, kissing Lily quickly.  
"Oh, you have a little..jam," she said. "I got it." She kissed him again and then once more.  
James grinned against her mouth. "I have to go," he said.  
"I love you," she said, ruffling his dark hair.  
"I love you, too," he said, and turned on his heel towards the living room where the fireplace was. Lily followed him.  
James took down the floo powder and threw a pinch into the fireplace, which went ablaze in green flames. James stepped in an turned around.  
"Good luck!" Lily called to him. He smiled, waved her good-bye and said, 'The Ministry of Magic' before dissapearing in an uproar of flames.

Lily walked back into the kitchen and placed the dishes in the sink, flicked her wand to start the self-washing process and tapped the kettle to make tea. Then, sitting down with her mug she pulled the paper towards her and began to read.

James held his arms in tight as he spun past fireplace after fireplace, until finally he felt himself slowing down. James threw out his arms and they caught on the edge of a fireplace. As he pulled himself up, he felt someone take a hold of his hand to help him out. He opened his eyes and saw appetite young witch with bouncy blond hair and an airy demeanor. He figured she must have been about 25.  
"Thanks," he said, as he rose to his feet and dusted himself off. He unclipped his traveling cloak and she held out her hands to take it for him. James realized she must be some sort of low-ranking assistant in the Ministry. "Thank-you," he said again as the girl hung his cloak on a clawed cloak-stand; there were already several traveling cloaks and a hat or two hanging from the many hooks. James stared at her for just as second; he was sure he recognized her from somewhere, but he just couldn't place those blue eyes.  
"I'm James Potter," he finally said, stepping forward to shake her hand.  
"I know," he replied, taking his hand in hers and shaking them up and down in a handshake much firmer than James had expected. James looked surprised at her crudeness. "My father is expecting you this morning," she added, and James realized she must have been told you fetch James for his meeting the Minister.  
Then something dawned on him from what she had said. "Oh, you're Lyla Mencanio?" he said, and then realizing how stupid he must have looked, reveling in his own genius, he dropped his eyes to the floor.  
Lyla giggled, her blond curls bouncing joyfully around her head.  
"Like I said; my father is expecting you, or at least he was two minutes ago," she said, glancing at her watch. James looked confused. "You're late," she clarified, as if delighted by his tardiness.  
"Oh God," James swore under his breathe and she arched her eyebrow.  
"I'd suggest you run; his office is on the top floor," Lyla offered.  
"What? Oh, right. Yes, nice to meet you, very nice. I uhh, have to run...literally!" James said, shaking her hand again quickly and turning on his heel and sprinting down the hall, slowing only for the very important ministry officials he saw on his way to the Minister's office.

James knocked a few times before hearing the 'ok' from within, and he pushed the door open. The Minister, an old man who was far past beginning to bald on top, was sitting at his desk, scribbling his signature on some papers while a stern-looking 20-something man in pitch black robes and with a stone face waited next to the desk.  
"Take a seat, James, this will only take a minute."  
James did as he was told and took the comfortable cushioned seat on the other side of the minister's desk. He looked up at the man who was who was waiting for the folder of documents back; the man did not take his eyes off the far wall so James turned his attention instead to the room itself.  
The office was as he remembered seeing it as a child, when his parents (very high-ranking wizarding officials) has brought him in to meet the Minister of Magic; it was fairly plain, a personal carpet down on the floor on top of the original crimson-red carpet, a few old photos of past ministers on the wall, dozing in their frames, a cloak stand in the corner, and a personal fireplace for the minister's most important guests. The minister himself sat behind a gorgeous chestnut desk; it was strewn with paper and ink bottles, several old quills and paper-weights. It was an odd sight for this junk-heap of a desk to be sitting right in the middle of such an immaculately tidy room.  
The Minister signed one last document and closed the folder, handing it back to the young man next to the desk, who bowed but did not speak, turned on his heel and exited the office, shutting the door behind him.  
The Minister paused a second before he looked up at James.  
"My you've grown, James Potter," he said, beaming across at the young man.  
"Yes it's been years since I've been in here," James replied, and added politely, "How have you been?"  
"Oh, you know...I'm about as good as a tired old man of my age can be. Getting by with just a little more effort than when I was a young'en like yourself," he replied, smiling in reminiscent way. "Anyway, that'll all be over soon!" he added cheerily.  
James looked surprised. "Are you stepping down, Minister?" he asked.  
"Yes, I think it's time, James. Once we find a new replacement, I'll be out of here for good and on my way to a relaxing retirement." He looked very pleased at the prospect. "Now, down to business," he said, suddenly looking ready for action.  
James sat up a little higher in his chair, and braced himself for whatever questions might come his way.

Sorry it took me forever to get this new chapter up...im way ahead of this is writing..lol...just been reallllyy busy!

More soon!

Jes xoxoxo


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"Thank-you very much, Minister," James said as he stood and shook the Minister of Magic's hand across the desk.  
The Minister still had a firm grasp for a man of his age; he scrutinized James for a moment, and then smiled. "You're going to be a great Auror, James."  
James grinned. "Thank-you, sir, I sure hope so," he replied.  
James turned to go. When he reached the door, he heard the old man's voice stop him once again.  
"James," he said, and the young man turned back. The Minister smiled again. "Work starts Monday, Potter. Nine AM, sharp!" but he winked after he said it and James grinned.  
"Thank-you, sir," he said again. Then he turned the doorknob and walked out into the hall.

A few days later

"James? Is that you!" Lily called as she took the steps two at a time. She got no reply and walked down the short hallway and into the living room, where James had just arrived in the fireplace and was dusting off his robes.  
"Good evening," she said, walking seductively towards him. He looked up at her and grinned, and as he did, Lily saw a deep gash across his cheek.  
"Oh, James," she said, touching it lightly with her fingers.  
He didn't wince or pull back, though; James was still smiling. "Don't worry, it's just Auror training," he reminded her, taking out his wand and repairing his skin with the flick of his wand.  
"Oh, right," Lily laughed. "You missed dinner," she said, changing subjects suddenly.  
James glanced at the clock on their wall and then looked back at Lily. "I know, sorry. I grabbed something to eat at the Ministry, though, so don't worry," he said, kissing her lightly on the forehead.  
"Oh..." Lily said. She had saved him some supper; it was sitting in the fridge for her to heat up.  
"And I am, beat!" he added, sighing heavily. Lily smiled meekly. "But not too tired," he said, giving her kiss, "to show my girlfriend just how much I love her."  
He kissed her again, and she put her arms around James' neck, falling into the passionate embrace. James' hands traveled down Lily's back and up her shirt.  
James broke the kiss suddenly. "Enough of this," he said, scooping Lily up into his arms; she let out a shrill cry.  
"James!"  
"I'm gonna show you a good time, little lady," he said, putting on his best version of an American southern accent.  
"Oh Mista Potter!" Lily cried out, also adopting the southern twang.  
James kissed her and then nuzzled his face in the crook of her soft neck. "Offica! Offica!" Lily cried out, giggling madly at the same time.  
James carried her out of the room and up the stairs, Lily's squeals echoing behind them all the way to the bedroom.

Lily was just sitting on her last bag and zipping it shut as she heard the doorbell ring downstairs. She heard James get up, folded his paper and go to answer the door. Lily looked around at the room; her side of the closet was almost bare, all of her toiletries were gone from the bathroom, her bathrobe was no longer hanging over the door, but folded and stuffed into one of the many suitcases that were spread across the otherwise-empty floor and bed.  
"Morning, Remus, come in," she heard James' voice float up from downstairs before the shutting of the door followed.  
Lily sighed deeply and looked around her. "Here we go," she whispered to herself, just as the sound of footsteps could be heard on the stairs.  
A second later, James knocked and pushed the door open. "You ready?" he asked, walking over to her. Lily turned to look at him and nodded.  
"Yes," she replied, taking his hands in hers. She never thought about how hard it would be for them to be apart so much, now that Lily was travelling back to Hogwarts with Remus to teach and James was staying home to do his work with the Ministry.  
James kissed her once on the lips. "I'll get the bags," he said, flicking his wand so that the many suitcases were lifted into the air, floating in front of him out the door and down the stairs to where Remus was waiting by the car that the school had sent for them.  
Lily sighed again and followed him down the stairs.

Lily stood across from James in front of the house. The car was idling by the curb, Remus in the back seat. He waited while James and Lily said their good-byes.  
"I'll miss you," he said, rubbing his thumb across her pale cheek. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.  
"I'll miss you, too," she said, trying to hold back her tears.  
"I wish you didn't have to go," James slightly-choked, Lily let out a feeble smile.  
"I'll be back in a week, and then we have the rest of the summer until school starts up. And Remus will look after me while we're there," she said, nodding lightly at the car and smiling.  
James managed a smile too and nodded. "I know, just a week," he replied.  
Lily kissed him and then pulled away, picking up her travel bag from where it lay next to her feet. "I have to go," she said, sighing.  
"I love you," James told her as he watched her eyes, shiny with tears.  
"I love you, too," she replied. He kissed her again and then turned back towards the house.  
"Go," he said, leaning against the door.  
"Bye." Lily waved back at him as she walked down the short stone path to the road. Remus got out to open her door and Lily bent and slid in onto the magically enlarged seat.  
Remus shut the door and she looked out the window at where James was still leaning, waiting for them to depart. Lily saw him wipe his cheek in what he thought was an indiscreet way and smiled. She waved at him as Remus got back in and shut his door; the car pulled away from the curb and Lily looked back at the house. James had gone back inside already, but she waved anyway.  
As Lily turned back around to face the front of the car, a tear fell down her cheek, and she didn't bother to wipe it away.

Lily cheered up very quickly with Remus by her side for the 11-hour car ride up to Hogwarts and they ended up acting very much like they had on the journeys they had taken on the Hogwarts Express not too long ago.  
Remus had brought a pack of exploding snap cards with him, and they quickly found the package of sweets the headmaster had left for them.  
They pulled up to the gates of the school just as the sun began to go down across the horizon. The car idled at the gates for just a second before they opened magically to let the driver through. He drove slowly up to the front doors and got out to pop the trunk. Remus stepped out and came around for Lily's door.  
"My, my, Remus, you are such a gentleman," Lily said, stepping out and grabbing her small duffel from the seat.  
"My pleasure, Lily," Remus replied, grinning as they looked up at the great shining castle rising above them.  
Lily looked up at the building and sighed. "It looks exactly the same.." she said quietly.

"But still kinda different somehow.." Remus added, nodding. Lily smiled; this year was going to be very different now that they were teachers. Lily had been very surprised when both she and Remus were offered jobs close to the end of the year, especially given their age, but had been very happy to accept the position. She would be working as a Transfiguration teacher for the first and second years while Professor McGonagal continued to take the rest. She would also be working in the job office, helping kids in their 5th and early 6th years decide what they wished to do after they graduated.  
Remus would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Their old teacher, Mr. Wanton, had retired at the end of last year due to his terrible arthritis, the likes of which even magical potions could not help.   
"There you go, miss," the driver said, and Lily snapped out of her day-dreamy state and turned to see him shutting the boot of the car, her bags littering the ground around her and Remus' feet.  
"Thank-you," she said, and the driver tipped his hat, climbed back into the now-empty car and drove back down the path, idling once again at the gates before disappearing completely into the night.  
Just then the front doors opened and Professor McGonagal appeared in the splash of light being thrown out into the night.  
"Welcome back, Lily and Remus," she said, walking down to them. It was the first time she had ever called them by their first names. Lily wondered if she was to do the same.  
"Good to see you again, Professor," she said, tentatively. The professor smiled.  
"We are colleagues now, you may call me Minerva," she replied and Lily nodded. "Leave your bags there, they will be brought up to your offices for you," she added and Lily and Remus both nodded again.  
"Come, come, supper's just started for the staff," Minerva said briskly ushering them in through the doors and into the Great Hall.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

After dinner, Professor McGonagal showed Lily and Remus down a hallway that, by the look of surprise on his face, even Remus had never seen before. Apparently there were several faculty suites down the hallway they were being led, hidden carefully by portraits, sculptures and vases.  
"Of course, your offices will also have small living rooms attached to them for meetings or dinners with students, but it is not common practice for the kids to know of the whereabouts of where we live. Ah, he we go," she had stopped in front of a large stone fountain of a fairy, and as Lily followed the steady stream of water back to it's source on the sculpture itself, she had to work hard to suppress a giggle.  
"Thunderstorms," Minerva said calmly and the water shut off suddenly as the fountain swiveled around the reveal a large hole in the wall. "After you."  
Lily stepped through first and was followed by Remus; Minerva brought up the tail and the wall moved back into place behind her. Lily walked down a short, dark corridor and was shocked when she came out the other end into a huge fire-lit common room with a grand-entrance style ceiling and dozens of large squishy armchairs and several beautiful oak tables.  
Lily moved further into the room and the professor began talking again.   
"All new staff share this common room space with each other; you're private apartments are off to each side," she motioned left and right and Lily saw four tall oak doors leading off to the other parts of the house. A small plaque over each door had its occupant's name engraved on it; Lily looked up at the doors on her right and saw one with 'Remus Lupin' above it and the one next to it bore her name.  
"I suppose that is all. You will be moving in to your main offices tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep, and I will see you both tomorrow at breakfast," Minerva finished, smiling at her new colleagues, and vanished back down the corridor.  
"Well, let's see what they're like, shall we?" offered Lily to Remus. He nodded and they crossed the room and entered their new living spaces.

The next morning, Lily awoke to the sound of tapping at her window. She sat up under her light pink comforter and smiled. She recognized the owl sitting on her window sill as James'; it had a scroll tied to its foot and was waiting patiently for her to come retrieve it.  
With minimal effort, Lily got herself out of bed and crossed the room. As she threw the window open, a blast of warm, bright sun hit her face and chest and Lily sighed because it felt so good. She took only a moment to savor the feeling of being back at Hogwarts before turning to the owl, which had flown past her through the open window and was now perched on her dresser.  
Lily walked over and took the letter from the bird, and patted it on the head. The owl cooed softly and then soared back out the window.

Lily unrolled the parchment and read:

_Dear Lily,_

I hope Sam doesn't wake you up too early, but I wanted to write and make sure you and Remus had reached the school fine. Please send back a reply soon; I miss you already.

Say hello to the professors for me and pass on my best wishes.

I love you, come home soon.  
Missing you tons,  
James xoxo

Lily rolled the parchment back up and found a new sheet on top of the desk in the corner of her room, pulled out a quill and quickly jotted down a reply to send back to James.

_Dearest James,_

Thank-you for the letter; Remus and I arrived at school just fine. It's very strange to be back here - Professor McGonagal has asked me to call her 'Minerva' which will take some getting used to.

It's so lovely here right now, I wish you could be here with me. Remember: it's just one week and I'll be home.

Must end here. Breakfast is being served in the Great Hall soon and then the faculty (isn't that weird!) have our first meeting before training starts for Remus and I tomorrow.

I'll write you more soon,  
Missing you so much,  
Love,  
Lily xoxo  
  
Lily folded the parchment and walked to her trunk, which lay open next to her unmade bed. She flicked her wand and got dressed as the covers began to move, pulling themselves tightly back up along the mattress, folding out wrinkled and squeezing between the mattress and the frame.  
After a quick shower, Lily pulled out some of her work clothes and got dressed. At about 9.15, she heard a knock on her door. Lily smoothed a quick layer of gloss across her lips and smacked them before walking across the room to see who was there.  
She opened the door and saw Remus standing across from her, dressed for the day.  
"Are you ready to go down to breakfast, Lily?" he asked.  
She nodded. "Sure, lemme put some shoes on and we'll go, k?" she replied, retreating back into the room and slipping on a pair of black sandals.  
Lily walked back across to the doorway and stepped through. Closing the door behind her, she smiled at Remus and gave him a nervous look.  
"Ok, let's do it!" she semi-squealed, and they exited out into the hallway.

Lily and Remus walked into the Great Hall and Lily stopped to look around. The four house-tables had vanished and only the faculty table remained, much like when she had once stayed for Christmas Break. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagal were sitting in the middle two seats and sharing in conversation with each other over their juice, their plates finished and sparkling clean.  
As the two new teachers crossed the room, Dumbledore glanced up and caught Lily's eye. He smiled and she could see the wrinkles that were beginning to form under his eyes, amazing that it hadn't happened yet, given his age. She smiled back and he beckoned them over to where he sat in the middle of the table.  
"Ahh, Ms. Evans and Mr. Lupin, how nice to see you!" he opened his arms in a very inviting gesture.  
"Excuse me, I must go now, Albus," McGonagal interrupted. "Good morning to both of you, I assume you slept well?" she said, turning to Lily and Remus as she got up from her seat.  
"Oh, very well, thank-you," Lily replied politely.  
"Superb rooms, Professor. I'm wondering why I didn't become a teacher sooner," Remus added, grinning broadly. McGonagal gave him knowing look.  
"Don't you be stirring up any trouble this year, Remus," she said, but still, she was smiling.  
"Oh, I won't, Professor."  
"I've asked you both to call me Minerva, so please feel free to drop this 'Professor' nonsense," she replied.  
Remus nodded as Minerva collected the notes she had placed on the table and added, "I'll see you all at the meeting," before departing.   
Lily and Remus turned back to Dumbledore, who was smiling at them over his half-moon spectacles.   
"I am sorry I couldn't meet you both last night when you arrived, urgent business, you know," he said. "Please, sit." He extended his hands to both the seats on either side of him, now vacant, and Lily and Remus moved around the table and took their seats.

A/n: I'm finally moving ahead with the fic so hopefully I'll be able to update here again soon!

Jes xo


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Lily and Remus spent a long quite a while at breakfast, catching up with old teachers (now colleagues), and having several wildly entertaining conversation with Professor Dumbledore.  
Lily looked at her watch and realized that they only had 15 minutes to change and get ready before their first meeting, so they excused themselves from the table and hurried out back into the main entrance hall.  
As Lily and Remus flew down their hallway, Lily collided with something very large and very much alive. She soon found herself on the ground, the wind completely knocked from her lungs for a second before she felt the person she had run into being helped up by Remus.  
Lily's head was spinning as she gulped air in, filling her lungs; her eyes were stinging, a single tear was running down her pale cheek.  
"I am so sorry," she heard a familiar American accent say. Lily blinked several times and shook her head a little before her eyes began to focus again. As they did, she saw two figures emerge, hovering over her.  
Remus leaned down and checked her forehead and her pupils and asked her if she was ok. Lily nodded with a little effort, and he helped her to sit up.  
She looked up at the other man, who had a worried expression on his face.  
He extended his hand to help her up. "Lily, oh, I'm so very sorry. I didn't even see you and Remus coming. Are you alright?" he asked, his hand still extended. Lily finally took it and felt his warm skin touch her cold, slightly clammy palm as he slowly and carefully got her standing. She held her head as the hall spun in front of her and then began to get her bearings again.  
Finally, she turned to the man. "I-I'm fine, Professor Cam- I mean, Jason...yes, I'm fine now, just a bit of a shock...thank-you," Remus and Jason were carefully leading Lily down the hallway. Remus gave the password and they stopped outside her door.  
"I think she needs to lie down...she can't sit through a meeting like this," Remus said, worry still surging through his eyes.  
"You go, I'll stay here with her, make sure she gets some rest," Jason told him, opening lily's door and bringing her through, sitting her down on the bed.  
"Are you sure, I can stay..."  
"No, go...you're new and I've been to enough of these meetings in the last two years to get the gist, I'll take care of Miss Evans - Lily," he said catching himself.  
Lily suddenly fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes.  
"I'm fine..just resting," she said when she heard the two men rushing to her, her eyes still closed.  
"Go, you're going to be late. I'll see Minerva later," Jason said.  
"Ok. Lily, I'll be back as quick as I can and then I'll send James an owl," Remus said, kissing her on the forehead before telling her to feel better and hurrying from the room.  
After a minute, Lily opened her eyes. Jason was sitting next to her on the bed, watching her.  
"Thank you, Jason," she whispered.  
"Call me Jay," he replied, and she smiled.

When Lily woke up, a stream of light from the setting sun was cutting a stripe across her face, making her wince as her eyelids fluttered open. She didn't move as soon as she woke up, taking a minute to remember where she was and what had happened. She could feel warmth all around her; someone must have tucked her in under her duvet cover. She smiled happily at the comfortable feeling of heat against her skin and closed her eyes again for a few seconds. When she opened them, Lily stared out of the window for a few minutes, drinking in the view of the setting sun out her window and glancing at the ceiling she saw the shadows it was beginning to play around the room. She sighed and licked her lips, realizing how thirsty she was for a drink. Then she felt movement behind her.

Turning over, Lily wasn't sure that her eyes were focusing right yet. She saw the outline of a man's body lying on the top of the covers next to her. His hair was stuck up against the pillow and he was sleeping, his mouth just slightly open as he snored lightly. Lily smiled as she immediately thought of James - or wait, was it Jason? Her forehead wrinkled as she wondered who this man lying next to her was, and why - if it was Jason and not James - she had smiled upon seeing him. Finally, she took in a deep breath and shook the man's shoulder lightly.  
"James? Umm..Jason? Wake up..." she said, quietly and then louder when he did not wake. The mystery man opened his eyes and smiled as he sat up. Lily cursed herself inside as she realized that it was neither James nor Jason but-  
"Remus, oh thank God," she said quietly, and he grinned at her.  
She put a hand to her face as she felt her cheeks begin to go ablaze with crimson embarrassment.  
"Morning, or well, evening, I guess," Remus said, looking out the window. He ran a hand down his face and rubbed his eyes. When he looked back up at Lily her whole face was flushed a deep red.  
"Lils..you ok? You look flushed - you're not feeling sick, are you?" Remus sat up straighter and lifted a hand to her forehead.  
"No, I'm- I'm fine...just a little, well, nevermind...How long did I sleep for?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject.  
"Ohh, six, seven hours, I guess. You had a nice run," he laughed and she smiled, her hand still on her cheek.  
"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked again; she nodded and smiled at him. "Well, do you want anything?  
"Yeah, actually, can I just have a cup of water with some ice?" she replied.  
"Coming right up, Madame!" Remus said, jumping off of the bed and bowing to her. Lily giggled as he walked from the room, still in the clothes he had been in that morning.  
"Hey, Remus?" she called suddenly, stopping him before he shut the door. He poked his head back in.  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
"How did you end up…you know.." she pointed at the spot where he had been lying just seconds earlier. His indent in the comforter was still painfully clear.  
"Oh," he said, chuckling a little. "Well, I came back as soon as the meeting ended and you were already out cold. I let Jason go back to his room and stayed with you, but you just kept sleeping and I guess I conked out too," he replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly.  
Lily grinned. "Sorry," she said.  
"No, I like a good nap as much as the next guy," Remus replied. "I'll go get that water for you." He nodded at her and pulled his head back and vanished behind the door.

Lily fell back down onto the mattress, her head cushioned by the pillow. She closed her eyes, but as soon as she did, she heard a tapping at the window.  
Getting up, she let James's owl in and gave it a pat on the head before it flew back out into the night.  
Lily unfolded the slightly crumpled parchment.

_Dear Lily,_

_Just heard the news from Remus,_  
_Leaving immediately...should be there by 6!_

_Love,_  
_James xoxo_

Lily glanced at the clock next to her bed.  
"5.30...half an hour to sleep.." she mumbled, putting the letter down on her dresser and climbing back into bed.  
"I love you, James," she whispered as her eyes closed, but somehow, she still saw Jason's face as she drifted back to sleep.

Lily was fast asleep again by the time Remus returned with her water. He smiled and placed the cup on her nightstand, pulled the covers up around Lily's chin and kissed her on the forehead. Then he sat down in the chair next to the bed and read a book as he waited for James to arrive.

"Lily..." James shook Lily's shoulders a little harder in an effort to get her awake. "Lilyyyy!" he tried again. Finally, she opened her eyes. She looked around for a moment, remembering where she was, and then James (and Remus at the end of the bed) came into focus and she grinned.  
"Mhmmm, hi," she said, rubbing her eyes and sitting up slightly.  
James smiled back. "Well good morning, sleepy-head," he said.  
Lily looked out the window and saw that the sun was just beginning to set. "What time is it?" she asked.  
"Just past 6...you've been out cold for like an hour," James replied.  
Remus' voice drifted over to them. "Yeah, you totally sleep like a dead person, Lils..." he was smiling though, and looked glad to see she was awake and James was there.  
James threw him a fake contemptuous glance. "Nah, she's my sleeping beauty," he said, turning back to Lily and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She beamed out at him; James leaned forward and they kissed. Lily felt like it'd been ages since they'd done this, even though it had hardly been 2 days since she arrived at Hogwarts.  
They heard Remus making gagging noises from his chair and pulled apart.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, was I disturbing you?" he asked, smiling evilly.  
Lily and James looked back at each other and then they both yelled, " Get out Remus!"  
"Ok, I get the hint," he replied, picking up his book and walking to the door. "If you guys don't want me here, I'll just go...all by myself...with no one to talk to…alone.." he gave them the puppy-dog eyes and James shook his head.  
"Good-night, Remus."  
Remus winked at James and waved to Lily. "Good-night, guys. Feel better, Lils," he added as he disappeared out into the common room.  
"He's crazy," Lily said, falling back onto her pillow.

"That's quite a bruise you've got there, Lily," James remarked, putting his fingers to her temple.  
"Really!" Lily squealed.  
"Nah, it's not too bad...Remus did a good job with it. Should be better in no time."  
"Good," Lily lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes.  
"_Lillly.._." She could hear James whispering above her, but she remained where she was, eyes closed. "_Lillllllllyyy_.." he whispered again and she couldn't help but smile. Eyes still closed, Lily opened her mouth. "What James?" she asked.  
"_Lillly_," he provoked and she cracked an eye open to see him staring down at her.  
"Yes, James?"  
"How are you feeling?" he asked, as innocently as possible.  
"Fine," she replied, but smiling slightly as she felt his hand reach under the cover and send shivers up and down her spine.  
"Fine enough to...?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
"James, I'm always fine enough to..." she giggled.  
"Good," he said, and then he leaned over and kissed her gently; Lily felt the side table for her wand and a second later, the lock clicked on the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Lily awoke the next morning and smiled. She threw her arm across the bed where it fell upon the soft comforter with a slight thud. Lily scowled as she realized that James' side of the bed was empty; she had been hoping to wake up with him in her bed as usual, and the severe lack of boyfriend made her groan loudly and close her eyes again. She forced them back open and sat up, propping herself against the headboard and glancing over at the wrinkled covers next to her, even though she knew there was no one there. Lily frowned again and dropped back down onto her pillow, rolling over and falling back asleep for another few minutes of peace before she absolutely had to get up - a fact that only made the start of the day worse than James' absence already had.

When she opened her eyes again 10 minutes later, Lily sat up in the bed again and looked around. Her anger quickly subsided as her eyes found the folded piece of parchment perched on her bedside table, and, underneath it, a single red rose. Lily smiled and pulled the soft comforter closer to her bare breast as she leaned over and picked the note and the flower up. She sniffed the rose first, breathing in its gorgeous scent before she placed it next to her on the bed and turned to the note. James' untidy handwriting greeted her as she did:

_Lily,_

_Good Morning, sleep-head! I'm sorry I left without saying good-bye, but you looked so peaceful sleeping there, and I didn't want to wake you._

_I got called into the Ministry early and had to leave to help out with some big crisis that's happening. _

(Lily's forehead wrinkled at what might be happening, and she wondered if James was in any danger going to the Ministry to help out.)

_Don't worry, though - they just needed some of us Aurors-in-training to fill some other positions for a few days while the higher up officials go out to handle the disaster, so I'll be perfectly safe. _

(Lily trusted that James was telling her the truth, and her worry instantly disappeared at his reassuring words.)

_I can't wait until your briefing is done and you're back home in a few days. Have fun in your meetings (I know you will!), and remember to keep Remus in line while I'm not there _(Lily smiled at this)_ and give him and the professors my best._

_Missing you already,_  
_Love,_  
_James xoxo_

Lily smiled and took another whiff of the rose before placing them both back on her nightstand, throwing off her covers and forcing herself out of bed. She glanced at the clock, and then rushed off to the bathroom to take a quick shower before her first meeting.

Lily let the warm rush of water wash over her hair one last time to get any extra conditioner out and then turned off the tap and hopped out of the large shower stall. She shivered as the cold air of the morning met her wet skin and grabbed her robe, tightening it fast around her and shoving her feet quickly into her waiting slippers. Then she crossed the bathroom and walked into her bedroom to the closet to pick out clothes for the day.

Many miles away from Hogwarts, James was in the employee's lounge having a cup of coffee and chatting with some other new workers taking a break. The news played softly on the magically powered television that was floating behind him.  
"Some big emergency this was, eh?" said one of the guys, sitting across the table from James. He had sandy hair and a crumpled copy of _The Daily Prophet _sat on the table in front of him.  
"Yeah, right. And here I was all worried, worried my girlfriend too, I'm sure, all over nothing. I mean, the jobs we're on are damn easy anyway...don't see what the big deal was," James replied, taking another sip of his coffee.  
"You got yourself a girl then, mate? Not a surprise, I mean, you're a handsome 'feller," the other guy joked. James smiled and pulled out his wallet.  
"Well, thank you, Jake, I'm all a-flutter. But unfortunately I'm taken," he pulled out a photo of Lily from his wallet and set it down on the table between them.  
Jake let out a low whistle. "That's her?" he asked, picking up the photo. Lily flashed him a big grin and pushed her hair behind her ear as he studied her.  
"Yep, that's Lily."  
"Well, you got yourself a real looker there...how'd you manage that? A few screws loose up in the little lady's noggin?" he joked, passing the photo back. James took and slid it back into his wallet, smiling.  
"Nope, not with Lily," he replied. He took the last sip of his coffee and stood up. "Actually, Lily is...well, perfect…she's perfect." James blushed slightly as he said it, causing Jake to roll his eyes.  
"Well, I'm happy for you, mate," he said, flipping the paper up.   
"Thanks." James turned to leave but stopped when he heard Jake's voice calling to him.  
"Hey James!" he said, causing him to turn around. "She's special. Don't ever let her get away," he said, and James could hear a little sadness in his voice.  
He looked down at his feet and then back at his friend, nodding his head. "Yeah..." he said. "Thanks, Jake," and then he turned and walked out into the hallway.

"Now I assume you have all read the school handbook that was sent to you this summer and understand all of the rules. Yes, Mr. Camden, even the returning teachers; it's a revised version every year, remember. Now..." Lily zoned out as Professor McGonagal's shrill voice continued past boring piece of information after boring piece of information about the upcoming term.  
Lily looked up as she felt a pair of eyes on her. As she did, she caught Jay's piercing blue eyes with her emerald ones. He winked at her as she watched him watching her. Lily blinked and looked away, towards Remus, who was sitting to her left. He was blatantly asleep, mouth slightly agape, with just a slight hint of drool about to escape his lips. Lily giggled silently for a moment and then hit him slightly on the chest.  
"Wha- oh..." he said, coming to and looking around, realizing where he was. He made an 'oops' face at Lily and sat up a little straighter in his seat. "How long was I out?" he whispered to her, stealing a glance at McGonagal, who was rambling on about something new but entirely as boring as before.  
"Not very long. I think you're fine," Lily whispered back. She giggled again and wiped the side of his mouth off. "Ew," she laughed quietly looking at her hand and wiping it on the seat next to her.  
"Haha, thanks, Lils," Remus said.  
Lily sighed. "The things I do for James' friends..." she said, pretending to be put-out.  
"Shut up," Remus told her, punching her lightly on the shoulder.   
"Ow!" Lily squealed slightly louder than may have been smart, and she covered her mouth instantly as if to hide the noise.  
"Shhh!" Remus whispered, though he couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he did it.  
"Remus, Lily? Are we interrupting anything?" the Professor's voice called over to them. Lily looked up to see McGonagal's gaze settled on her and Remus; all of the other teachers were quiet, looking around at them too. Lily glanced over at Jason, who smirked and made a face at McGonagal behind her back. Lily couldn't help but giggle a little, despite herself.  
"Lily?"   
Lily turned back to the professor and instantly turned a bright shade of red.  
"Uhh, nothing- I mean, no...Professor," she replied and then, "Er, no, Minerva," she corrected herself. "Excuse our rudeness."  
"Er, yes, please continue," Remus added awkwardly, his face also turning slightly pink.  
"Why thank-you, Remus, how kind," McGonagal replied curtly. She turned back to the other faculty. "Where was I? Oh yes..." and off she went again.  
Lily looked at Remus. He made a face at her and she threw eyes at him and forced the giggles down. She pointed to the professor. "Listen!" she whispered.  
Remus rolled his eyes and yielded to her directions.  
Lily looked around again and found that those same blue eyes were watching her. She smiled quickly at Jason and then turned back to listen to McGonagal.

"Thank-you, sir," James said, taking a signed slip of parchment from the Ministry Official sitting at the desk in front of him. The official nodded and sent James on his way with the paper in a small folder with 'private' stamped across it.  
James exited the office and walked down the hallway. He smiled and said hello to the people he met on his way and stopped once or twice to have a quick talk with some of them. As he turned a corner, not looking where he was going, he suddenly felt himself hitting something large and solid. He felt hot liquid pour onto his shirt and his robes and looked up to see a luminous face filled with bright blonde curls.

"Oh my- I am so sorry!" the girl squealed with embarrassment,  
James looked up to see that the curls belonged to Lyla, the Minister's daughter he had met by the fire on his first day. He smiled at how flustered she was getting.  
"No worries, Lyla," he said, pulling out his wand and flicking it - as soon as he did, the stain lifted from their clothes and vanished into thin air, everything good as new.  
"Thank-you," Lyla said, meekly.  
"You're welcome," James replied, smiling at her; she was still shaking just a little bit. "So...how have you been?" James leaned against the wall to talk to her. Lyla looked astonished that he was still talking to her.  
"Oh! Well, I've been, I've been good…great! You?" she replied, trying to act as casual as James was. She folded her arms but her coffee cup got in the way, so she put it down, blushing and then re-crossed her arms. James almost laughed.  
"Good, good. A little difficult adjusting to this whole "career" thing, but I'm sure it gets better," he said, smiling.  
Lyla leaned ever so slightly closer to James; she caught the smell of his cologne and blinked before replying. "Yes, I promise it will," she grinned up at him, boldly (and as casually as she could) stepping toward James.  
He sensed what she was doing but stayed where he was. He could feel his pulse quickening just a little, but he also felt that he should not be feeling this way.  
"Promise," she said again, laying her hand on his chest.  
He looked down at it and then smiled. "Yes, well see, it is a little more difficult with Lily also having a job. She's away at a briefing before she returns for the rest of vacation. She's been offered a job teaching at our old school, Hogwarts!" he said in a very chipper voice.  
"Lily?" Lyla asked.  
"Yes, I mean, so I'm here, training most of every day and now she's away and I went to see her, but then I had to get called here suddenly. It's quite a change to seeing each other every day like we were used to. But we'll just have to adjust, won't we?" he sneakily threw her a big grin, showing off his pearly whites. He knew it would work to throw her off of him, but it was still hard for him somehow, knowing that it would.  
"Yes...um, who is Lily?" she asked, as nonchalantly as she could. Her hand was still laid upon the front of James' shirt.  
"Lily? Well, she's my girlfriend," James replied, coolly.  
"Oh, um-" she pulled her hand back and turned. Then she turned back suddenly. "I have to g-go..have to go, goodbye, James.." and then she scuttled off down the hallway.  
James grinned but couldn't help himself to watch her as she hurried away from him. She didn't look back.

A/N

Ahhh, sorry for the long wait..i didn't know I was this far behind on this site, but this is a longer chapter so I hope it makes up for it and I can promise another chapter very soon!

Enjoy!

Jes xo


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8..is it? Lol

Two days later, Lily was sitting in the Great Hall, sipping a cup of tea and reading the _Evening Prophet _when someone came up behind her. Before she could look around, large hands had placed themselves over her eyes, shielding her view. She giggled and breathed in the man's scent. It was musky and mixed with a sweet smell that she couldn't put her finger on, but it smelled like home.  
She wondered to herself who it could be; James had been hoping to get some time off to see her soon, but always wore the same cologne. Remus, maybe?  
"Ok, I give up," she said, finally. She tried to turn around but his hands stayed put.  
Then she felt a hot breath next to her ear; she could smell the slight smell of alcohol in his whisper, but he wasn't drunk, just a little evening Firewhiskey.  
"Guess, Lily," he said, sending a chill up her spine. It was all Lily could do to not physically shake. She recognized the voice.  
"Jason?" she said, knowing that she was right.  
"Right!" came his voice, now high and chipper as he gave her possession of her sight again and appeared to her left. "This seat taken?" he asked, motioning towards the chair next to hers.  
"No, go ahead," Lily said. She smiled at him and he pulled the chair out and sat down.  
"So," he said, waving his wand to make a second cup of tea appear. "How are you? I haven't talked to you in a while."  
"Oh, good. I've been good," she replied, motioning to the paper. "Just reading about all the raids the Ministry's been doing lately. James talks about it in his letters, but he says it's really nothing to worry about, that the media is blowing it out of proportion." She smiled again and pushed the paper across the table.  
Jason gave it a once-over and took a sip of his tea.  
"I suppose it's best to trust the professionals, right?" he said, grinning at Lily and flipping the paper closed.  
"Guess so," she replied, softly.  
Jay quickly drained his mug and stood up. "Hey, do you have anything planned tonight?" he asked, and Lily looked up at him.  
Remus had said he'd be in his room all night but they hadn't actually planned anything. She shook her head. "No, why?"  
"I just wondered if you might like to go to the Hog's Head and grab a drink, maybe see if there's some dancing in the town after," Jay said, putting his hands in his pocket.  
"Oh, um.." Lily trailed off. She looked away and then back up at him. "You see, Jason, James and I, we've been dating for quite a while, and I really do love him a lot, I just couldn't do that to him." She frowned slightly.  
"Do what? We're friends, right?" Jason replied, wrinkling his brow. "And I have a girlfriend, too. Her name is Melissa and I love her very much; I'd never want to mess that up. Trust me," he said, smiling. "Just friends?"  
Lily felt herself nodding. "Ok, then. Just friends."  
"Hey, and you can invite Remus, too, if you want," Jay offered. "He's quite welcome."  
"Um, no, Remus said he had plans tonight. I wouldn't want to intrude," Lily heard herself saying. Even as she said it, she had to wonder what was she doing. She knew Remus wasn't busy and she knew she shouldn't be out with another man, even if they were "just friends." She swallowed some tea quickly and put on a fake smile.  
"C'mon, it'll be fun. Plus, I heard you were quite the underage party-animal while you were still here, Miss Evans!" Jason said as she stood up.  
Lily's jaw fell open. "You knew about that!" she cried.  
Jason smirked. "We all knew about that, Lils."

James knocked on the Minister's door and waited for a reply before he entered. Mr. Mencanio sat behind his desk, a stack of papers on either side of him and several unopened letters lay in front of him.  
James shut the door and walked over to the desk. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked politely. The Minister nodded and motioned towards the seat across from him.  
"Have a seat, James, there's a good lad," he said, rubbing his face and taking a deep breath. It looked to James as though he hadn't slept in many days; there were dark circles under his eyes and his clothes were slightly wrinkled. James took the seat offered to him and waited. The Minister took another breath and looked up at him.  
"Drink?" he offered, picking up his wand.  
"Oh, um, yes please," James replied, still wondering what this meeting was about. Had he done something wrong he didn't know about? _Did he know about his and Lyla's "friendship"?_ James gulped as the old man waved his wand two glasses of scotch appeared on the desk. He handed one to James, who took a small sip and prayed he wasn't about to be sacked.  
"James," Mr, Menacio started, finally, and James set his glass down, fearing the worst.  
"Sir?"  
"James, you know how when we first met about your position here I said I was planning on retiring soon?" he said, pausing to take a long sip of his scotch.  
"Yes, sir," James replied, now very confused about what was happening.  
"Well, my health seems to have taken a turn for the worse lately and my doctor wants me gone as soon as possible." Then, almost as if to prove his point, the old man set down his drink and began to cough violently. James jumped up from his seat to go and help.  
"I'm fine, James, thank-you. I'm fine," the Minister said, holding up his hand. "Thank-you."  
James nodded and walked back around the desk, taking his seat and watching as the Minister wheezed lightly across from him. He tried to laugh, but it came out sickly-sounding and he just smiled at the young man instead.  
"How long do you-" James started, but was cut off by the Minister.  
"End of the week and I'm gone for good. I suppose early retirement can't be all that bad..." he said, trailing off and sipping his drink.  
James was silent for a minute. "I'm sorry, sir," he said. He glanced at his own glass, still sitting on the table in front of him.  
"Oh, don't be, James! You see, this is very good new for you, and a few other members of the Ministry."  
James didn't understand. "How do you mean, sir?" he asked.  
"I mean," he started, taking the final swig of his scotch and looking across at James, "that now I am out of the picture, we've started to look for a replacement. Now I've been begging Albus to take over for me for years, but alas, he won't leave Hogwarts." James smiled, remembering his old Headmaster. He quickly wondered how Lily was, but pushed it out of his mind, and shifted his concentration back to the Minister.  
"Now, we asked a few others, as well, but no one was very keen on the job at the moment, so that young whipper-snapper Crouch will be taking my job." He scowled for a moment at his own words before remembering James was there. He continued, "Now, I can't pretend that everyone is very pleased at our decision, but we were pressed for time and under the circumstances..." he trailed off and pointed his wand over his glass, refilling it with liquor. He motioned to James' glass, but he shook his head.  
"No thank-you. So, what does all of this have to do with me?" he asked.  
"Well, Smith is taking over for Crouch, Kraft is taking Smith's job and Weasley will be the new man in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office...not a big step up, but he deserves a boost, poor guy's been here for a few years now.." the old man began trailing off again, giving James a second to work it out in his head. Arthur Weasley had joined the Ministry about 9 years back, hoping to land the vacant position in the Misuse office, but had been offered, instead to go through training to become an Auror. He had accepted, only with the hope of moving in a year or two.  
"But that means...not me, sir?" James asked, realizing that a hole now lay in the Junior Auror division. Most aurors in training couldn't hope to see that type of promotion for at least a year, but usually much more.  
The Minister nodded, smiling. "That's right. You've shown some great initiative in these last few weeks, James, and we all feel that you would be a great addition to the Junior Auror team. Congratulations!"  
James actually laughed out loud; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.  
"Well, thank-you, thank-you very much, sir! I'm, I'm honoured!" James stammered, standing up. He walked around the desk to where the Minister was sitting, a large grin on his face.  
"You're very welcome, James. You deserve this!" he held out his hand, but James leaned down and gave the old man a hug, startling him slightly.  
James pulled back, beaming.  
"Thank-you," he said again.  
"Go home, James, it's late and you should be celebrating, not working!"  
"Yes, sir," James turned and walked to the door.  
"And, James!" the Minister called after him. James turned to see Mancanio standing behind his desk. "This will not be an easy job, I'm sure you know that, don't you?" He said, his face not entirely worried, but not holding the same gleam it had a moment ago.  
James nodded, "Yes, sir."  
"Dark times lie ahead, James, and we need all of the help we can get right now to fight whatever might be coming. We trust you are one of those people, just like your parents were." James stood staring for a second and then nodded again and smiled.  
"I will be, sir. That's a promise," he said.  
The Minister nodded as well. "Good man. Say hello to Ms. Evans for me, would you?"  
"Of course. Good evening sir," James replied, and then turned the knob and nearly skipped down the hall towards the fireplace.

A few hours, and a few drinks, later, Lily and Jay were walking back across the grounds towards the gleaming castle. Lily was laughing loudly at something Jason had just said, clinging onto him for support on the bumpy terrain.  
They reached their common room and Lily tried to get out the password.  
"Snafl..no..snam..snifle..ooo, um...amble?" she began giggling madly, her purse falling off of her shoulder as she clung on Jason's arm. He smiled at her and then said, "Cherry Pie," to get them in. He felt Lily let go of him as he walked through and a second later, he heard a loud **thump! **and turned to see Lily on the ground, laughing hysterically and not the least bit upset about her fall.  
He rolled his eyes and went to help her up.  
"Here we go, Lily," he said, grabbing her by the wrists. She pulled out of his grasp.  
"I can do it, myself!" she snapped, pushing herself up off the floor with great force. She teetered where she stood and then stepped wobbly back and forth for a minute before Jason saw her fall forward. He ran over and caught her in his arms just in time.  
"Ok, Lily, let's get you inside...Lily?" he said, shifting her in his arms and lifting her head up. Lily's eyes were closed and a second later she began to snore. Jason let out a long laugh and hoisted the drunken-girl into his arms and carried her across the doorway and into her room.

Jay laid Lily down on the bed crawled up next to her. She grabbed the pillow and hugged it to herself as she slept; a strand of her hair was stuck to her lip-gloss. Jay smiled and pushed the hair back, revealing her lovely face.  
"Lily?" he tried, rubbing her cheek, but still, she slept.  
He leaned closer to her face and tried again, "Lils?"

Lily felt a warm breath on her face and awoke from her slumber. She saw a smiling face above her but couldn't make out who it was. _James?_ She called to him in her head, but she couldn't make her mouth say the word as well. Whoever it was had gotten her into her bed, and was now holding water out for her. Lily used all of her strength to sit up, and took the glass from her mystery helper, downing it in three large gulps.  
She dropped the glass onto the carpet and closed her eyes again. When she opened them, she saw the same blurry man across from her.  
Suddenly, she leaned over and kissed him, shoving her beautiful lips against his. The man was taken aback and stiffened at kiss at first, but soon leaned into her as well, deepening the passionate embrace. He cradled her head in his hands and parted her lips with his tongue as Lily felt herself lean slowly back onto her pillow. He leaned with her, his arms supporting his weight on either side of her. They broke the kiss and she opened her eyes, smiling up at the man, who was grinning back at her.  
"I knew you wanted this," he whispered, leaning in again. Something about that voice clicked in Lily's brain and her eyes widened. Before she knew it, she had rolled over onto her side, her head over the bed. She opened her mouth and barfed onto the plush pink rug, and then she collapsed back onto the bed, breathing heavily.  
"Lily? Are you o.k?" Jason asked.  
Lily didn't open her eyes. "You should go," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.  
"But.."  
"Just go," she said, opening her eyes and seeing him still across from her, his forehead wrinkled in dissatisfaction. "Go," she ordered, a firmness in her voice.  
"Fine," he spat at her, and she felt his weight move off of the bed and heard him trudge out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Lily winced at the sound.  
_What had she done?_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Lily didn't sleep the entire night. She just lay there, hugging her comforter close to her body, watching the clock as it _tick-ticked_ closer to tomorrow. 3.25...3.26...3.27...a tear rolled down Lily's cheek as she remembered it for the thousandth time that night. _What had she been thinking?_  
Suddenly, Lily rolled out of bed, grabbed her robe, threw it on over her lace nightgown and walked out her room. She crossed the common room and exited past the statue guarding their entrance. She didn't notice Remus sitting on the couch as she left.

- Remus watched as Lily's door opened and she appeared in her nightgown, shrugging a thin robe around her shoulders. There were no slippers on her feet as she exited though the door out into the hallway. Remus put down his book and stood up from the couch. He didn't follow her, but instead walked across the room and pushed lily's door open to see if he could find any clues about her sudden flee from the room.  
He pushed the door open slowly and walked across the threshold into Lily's bedroom, shutting the door behind him. A stench hit his nostrils hard as soon as he entered, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust; he recognized that smell. Walking around to the other side of the bed, he saw where Lily had gotten sick, and the empty water glass a little ways from it. He sighed and pulled out his wand, flicking it slightly. The mess cleaned itself up instantly and the cup righted itself and floated onto the bedside table. He saw a small stain on the pillow and felt it - Lily had been crying. -

Tears streamed down Lily's pale cheeks and her pace quickened as she came to the large entrance hall. She almost flew to the big oak doors and pulled them open, running out into the moonlit night and across the grounds towards the lake.

- Remus walked to the window and looked out upon the Hogwarts grounds, so still and serene, bathed in blue moonlight. Suddenly, he saw Lily's tiny figure shoot out from the main entrance; he watched as she ran towards the lake, her robe flying out behind her like a cape, her gorgeous hair flying all over the place as the wind hit her face.  
Remus turned as he heard the door open again. He squinted his eyes as he saw Jason appear in the doorway.  
"How is she?" Jason asked quietly, not shutting the door, but touching it gently as he stood.  
Remus didn't flinch. "Stay away from her," he said, anger cutting through his voice. He suddenly found a deep hatred in his being for this man; whatever it was he had done was clearly the reason for his friend's sudden distress.  
Jason nodded silently and backed out of the room.  
When Remus looked back out the window, he couldn't find Lily anywhere. He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. He crossed the room again and walked back out to the living room, where he sat back down with his book and waited to see if Lily was coming back any time soon. -

Lily stopped running right at the edge of the lake, teetering on the bank, her mind all abuzz with words and sounds and questions and memories. She shivered even though it was the middle of summer, and the wind carried a warm breeze as dawn broke over the horizon.  
Lily closed her eyes and tried to make her head think straight. _Just calm down, breathe...think this through. _She told herself, taking long steadying gulps of air as she stood next to the water's edge. _You did the right thing, making him leave. You didn't know who it was, or what you were doing. You were DRUNK, Lily...just calm down...James will understand - he loves you. _Lily opened her eyes, now much calmer than she had felt in several hours. She almost smiled until one last thought flashed through her mind.

_If he still loves you..._

And then Lily jumped; a high-arching swan dive right into the chilly lake.

- - - - - -

Lily emerged a few seconds later, breaking the water's surface and gasping for breathe. The water was a lot colder than she had expected, and tiny little needle-like prickles were dancing all over her body. She looked around at the still night and then up at the castle, wondering if anyone else was up. She blew a piece of seaweed off of her mouth and pushed her sopping wet hair back away from her face.  
Then, after a few deep breathes, she doggy-paddled to where she could stand, and dragged herself out onto the embankment. Rolling over onto her back she stared up at the stars, laying there without moving for a few minutes. Suddenly, Lily felt a teardrop fall down her frozen cheek and melt away into the grass. She pulled herself up and over to the closest tree. As she looked up, she saw something carved into the bark in the trunk that made her whimper out loud. It was a carved heart with JP + LE unevenly cut inside of it. She remembered back to that day when she and James had been sitting under that very same tree, laughing and smiling.

_Her head was in his lap while he talked and she could feel his voice reverberating as he spoke. She had fallen asleep to the sound of James' voice, the sound of his laugh, and the beating of his heart. She had woken to the feel of his lips on hers and the sound of his whisper next to her ear. _  
_"I have an idea," he said, as she opened her eyes._  
_"What's that?" she asked, coyly, not lifting her head from his stomach._  
_James reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket knife, flicking the blade out suddenly. Lily gasped as she saw the glint of the sun's rays on the sharp metal._  
_"Are you going to kill me, James?" she asked, grinning broadly._  
_"No," he replied smartly, instead sitting up and turning to the tree. Lily lifted her head and sat up as well. James began to scratch away at the bark with his knife but Lily couldn't make out what it was._  
_"Then what are you going to do?" she asked him, playfully leaning her head on his shoulder and breathing in his scent._  
_"I," he turned away from the tree and looked at her. He paused for a second and looked at her. "I love you," he whispered, running his hand through her fire-orange locks. She kissed his hand and looked up at him._  
_"I love you, too," she replied, barely audible._  
_James dropped the penknife and kissed her. He broke away and began to tickle the bare skin hiding underneath her shirt. She submitted to a loud round of giggles and fell back against the soft ground. He stopped tickling her and she opened her eyes to look up at him. He moved over her, his shadow falling across her beautiful face as she smiled up at him._  
_"Good, because I am going to love you," he leaned down and kissed her on the mouth, and then on her cheek and neck and collarbone, causing Lily to shiver under him. He brought his mouth to her ear and sighed the last word against her skin, "forever..."_  
_Lily tilted her head and grinned at him. "Yeah?" she asked._  
_He smiled broadly. "Yeah."_

Lily's mind screamed back to the present as she looked at the carved heart. She pulled herself against the tree trunk and hugged her knees to her chest, eyes closed. She felt liquid on her forehead and realized it must have started raining.  
She sat there, rocking back and forth against the tree trunk, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the warm summer rain, until she didn't know anything more, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

The next thing Lily knew, she was being lifted into strong arms. She didn't fight it, just let herself be carried away back up the small hill to the school, she opened her eyes slightly and watched tapestry after tapestry go by on the walls. She felt the man holding her climb several sets of stairs until he stopped.  
"Cherry pie," came his old, familiar voice, and then they were moving again. Lily felt the heat of a fire on her back as they entered the common room. She shut her eyes again and relished in the warmth.  
"Through here, sir," she heard Remus' voice saying, slightly fearful.  
A door creaked open and they walked through, and a second later the old man placed Lily into her bed and pulled the covers tight around her neck. Her head fell to the side against her satin pillow.  
"Do you think she'll be o.k?" Remus whispered next to her.  
"Oh, I think so. Just make sure she gets some rest before you head off tomorrow," the wizened voice replied. The voices sounded like they were coming to Lily from another place. She struggled to open her eyes again but to no avail.  
Footsteps moved away towards the door.  
"You're a good man, and a good friend, Mr. Lupin."  
"Thank-you, sir."  
Lily heard the door creak back open and forced her eyes open in time to catch a glimpse of the back of the tall, aged wizard and his long sheet of white hair before the door clicked behind him.

The next morning, Lily got up as soon as she was awake, and quickly packed her things. As she was zipping her suitcase shut, she noticed a folded piece of paper on her dresser. She walked over and picked it up, reading the loopy handwriting upon it.

_We all make mistakes..._

was all it said. Lily threw it on top of her clothes and finished zipping her case before she headed out into the common room. She rapped quickly on Remus' door and waited until he opened it.  
The door opened a second later to show Remus, also ready with his things. He looked awful, and Lily was pretty sure he hadn't slept all night. She gave him a look and made a strange sobbish noise but didn't say anything; instead, she turned on her heel and exited as quickly as possible.

The same car that had brought them to Hogwarts a week ago was idling out front of the castle. Lily walked out into the bright morning and forced a smile to the driver, who was almost done packing their luggage in the boot of the car. She climbed in and was followed by Remus just a second later.  
Lily didn't look back at the castle as they pulled away. She shut her eyes and didn't talk to Remus for the whole ride back home.

- - - - - -

The car pulled up to the gates closing off Lily and James' neighborhood just as the sun was setting in the distance. The gate clicked open and the driver eased through, humming down the quaint street. Lily had finally opened her eyes again about halfway through the journey, but she had just stared out the window. Remus had not attempted to start a conversation, but had resigned himself instead to finishing his latest book. As they ambled down the narrow road towards James' house, Lily watched some kids playing on the sidewalk out at the front of their home. She sighed and wondered if she would ever have that with James - or with anyone.  
The car pulled up to the curb and driver turned off the engine with a tap of his wand and went to open Lily's door for her.  
"Thank-you," she said, but the words caught in her dry throat.  
He nodded and walked around to the back of the car to gather her things. Lily picked up her purse and was scooting out of the car when Remus finally spoke.  
"Lily-" he said. She stopped and paused before turning around to face him. His countenance was strained, and his eyes pleaded with her to listen.  
"Lily, you're one of my best friends, and I love you like a sister," he started. Lily gulped and wondered where this was going. "I just," he paused and closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "I just want you to know, that I won't tell him." Lily felt the tears threatening as they welled up in her eyes. She gazed at Remus, and her chin wobbled. "I won't tell him, but you should," he finished, sighing heavily. She could tell it had been hard for him to say.  
She nodded and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Thank-you," she whispered. He nodded and then she leaned over and hugged him. She sniffled in his ear and he smiled, gripping her tightly. She pulled away and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you, Remus."  
"See you, Lily," he replied as she stepped out of the car and thanked the driver again. Lily picked up her luggage and turned to wave as the car pulled away from the curb and back down the street.

As Lily let herself into the house, she expected James to come swooping down on her with a barrage of insults and hateful words to throw at her. Of course, she was wrong; most of the lights were out, but she could see a faint glow coming from down the hallway.  
"James?" she called out, her voice shaking just slightly. There was no reply, but as she listened, she heard a faint click of a record fitting into its player. She hung up her coat and slipped off her shoes, padding her way down the hall. She felt something stick to her foot and looked down. Lily gasped as she realized that the floor had been strewn with hundreds of rose petals, all different colours. She smiled and looked around. A single red rose lay on the hall table. She picked it up and sniffed it, her smile widening across her face. She carried the rose with her as she turned and walked into the living room.  
She stopped and looked around, her mouth agape, unable to speak. The room was lit solely by the dozens of candles that were burning on every surface; candles and more rose petals led up the stairs behind her, and she looked over to see James leaning against the fireplace, laden with burning candles. The flames threw his face into a soft glow as he looked at her across the room. He was holding another single red rose.  
"James..." she breathed quietly, unable to know what else to say. He smiled at her and put a finger to his lips. She smiled back and obeyed. He walked over to the record and picked up the needle, carefully placing it onto the disc. A short scratching noise burst through the room and then came the melodious hum of her favourite song...

_...I-I-I-I..._  
_I'm so in love with you...whatever you want to do,_  
_Is alright with me-ee-ee..._

James and Lily walked towards each other, meeting in the middle of the room. Lily giggled as Al Green's words floated around her, and she gazed up at James, who handed her the other rose.

_'Cuz you, make me feel so brand-new-oo-oo..._  
_And I-I, want to spend my life with you-oo-oo..._

Without a word, James took Lily's right hand in his and placed his left around her waist. Lily put her left hand (holding the roses carefully) on his shoulder, and they began to dance...

_Oooo oooo ooo ooo, yeah,_  
_Whether times are good or bad, and we're happy or sad..._

_Why somebody, why people break up  
Oh, and turn around and make up  
I just can't seeeeeeeee  
You'd never do that to me  
(Would you baby)  
'Cause being around you is all I see  
It's why I want us to_

_Let's, let's stay together  
Loving you whether, whether  
Times are good or bad, happy or sad..._


	10. Chapter 10

Le 10th chapter...lol

The next morning Lily woke up and rolled over under the soft comforter. She felt James beside her and smiled; she loved waking up like this. James grunted as he felt her slide up next to him and kiss him softly on the cheek. Lily smiled and whispered in his ear, "I'm going to make us some breakfast." James opened his eyes as he felt Lily slip out off the bed and grinned a little sheepishly as she walked across the room and slipped on one of his long shirts. He rolled over and closed his eyes as the door clicked shut.  
James waited until he heard the sound of bacon sizzling in a pan downstairs before he finally dragged himself out of the bed and into the bathroom for a quick morning shower.

As James walked into the kitchen clad only in a pair of boxers from last Christmas, Lily set their plates down across from each other, along with the paper and went to get mugs for their coffee.  
"Thank-you, sweetheart," James said, sitting down on his stool and spreading some butter across his and Lily's toast.  
"You're very welcome," Lily replied, setting down his coffee next to her own and leaning across the table to give him a quick kiss. "After all, it's the least I can do after that amazing display last night. What was that all about?" she asked, grinning as she opened the marmalade and put a glob on her toast before passing it over to James.  
He smiled and spooned some marmalade onto his toast and put the top back on. Lily licked some goo off of her finger and looked over at him.  
"Well..." he said, very mysteriously. Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "I've been given...a promotion!" he beamed as he finished his sentence. Lily was silent a moment before she realized his words, and then, quick as a shot, she was off of her chair and around the little island table.  
"James!" she screamed, and he caught her in his arms. "That's wonderful! It's, well, it's amazing actually, considering how long you've been there…what is it?" Lily could hardly catch her breathe from the excitement. Her arms were still around James' neck, her legs keeping her airborne as they clung to his waist.  
"Well, it's just the next level up, Junior Auror, but it means I'll actually be out in the field a few days a week...easy work, Hun, nothing dangerous yet!" he added, reassuring Lily.  
"Well," he said, kissing him once," I am very," she kissed him again," proud," kiss "of," kiss "you!" She kissed him long and hard this time. James cradled her head as he was still holding her up in the air. His hand traveled up her shirt and caressed her back. Lily pulled away, but she was smiling.  
"Tonight, you are going out with the boys. Tell them no excuses, no girlfriends, just lots of partying and celebrating before you have to get all serious and become an official Ministry Official," she let her voice go all deep and manly for the last three words and giggled. He grinned.  
"Did I tell you that I love you?" he asked, grinning up at her.  
"Maybe.." she replied, teasing.  
"And that you're fantastic, and brilliant and perfect..." James trailed off as he carried Lily back up the stairs, their laughter echoing through the hallway.

That evening, Lily lay on the bed as she watched James get ready for his big night out to celebrate his promotion. All of the boys had been able to make it; James had even managed to twist Peter's arm enough to get him to join in.  
"Honey, have you seen my-" James asked as he searched though a pile of clothes in the hamper.  
"It's in the back of the closet. Try the other door," Lily cut him off before he even had to finish asking.  
"Thank-you, sweets," James said, pulling back the other side of the closet where most of his clothes were hanging. He pulled out the shirt he had been looking for and smiled. "Ah, perfect, you're amazing."  
James slipped the shirt on over his head and found a pair of jeans to match. He turned to Lily with two belts in his hands. "Which one?"  
Lily squinted and then pointed to the one on the left. "That one," she said. James winked and looped his through his jeans, buckling it and finding the shoes Lily had set out for him earlier.  
"Ah, where do I have clean-" Lily chucked a rolled-up pair of socks at James' head and giggled. "Right and my-" he stopped as he saw Lily pointing to the bureau top where his cologne was sitting. James slipped on the socks, tied up his shoes and dabbed just a bit of cologne on each side of his neck.  
James quickly checked his face in and hair in the mirror, smoothed down his clothes and smiled. He walked over to the bed just as there was a quick knock on the door and then the sound of someone entering.  
They heard Sirius' voice as he yelled up to them. "Come on, Potter! I didn't know we were waiting for a girl to join us this evening!" which was quickly followed by Peter's timid and slightly hushed voice tellingg Sirius off for barging into the house. "Oh, get off it, Peter...James! Let's go! Remus left to car running!" he yelled shrilly up the stairs.  
James grinned and kissed Lily on the cheek. "You'll be alright tonight by yourself?" he asked.  
"Who says I'll be by myself?" Lily replied coyly.  
James arched an eyebrow. "What…have you got a hot date lined up for this evening, Lily?" he asked, joking.  
"Yes, the girls should be here very soon, actually," Lily replied, giggling. James smiled.  
"Promise not to be out too late, I love you." James headed out the door.  
"I love you, too!" Lily replied. He winked and walked out. Lily heard James take the steps two at a time and the sound of Sirius greeting him ("About time, mate. What happened? Your make-up gave you a hard time did it?"), followed by the door shutting and the sound of a car pulling away down the road.

James navigated his way across the crowded dance floor towards the bar. As he reached the counter and tried to get the bartender's eye, he felt a hand grab his arm. He turned to see Sirius pulling out his money-bag and shaking his head.  
"Do you really think we'd let you pay tonight!" He was almost roaring just to make himself heard over all the noise in the club. James opened his mouth to protest. "Nuh-uh-uh-uh, no way...you are CELEBRATING!" he grinned at James who, defeated, put his own money back into his pocket. Sirius motioned to the female bartender, who appeared across from him a second later.  
"Well, hello there little lady," Sirius said, flashing her a grin.  
The woman rolled her eyes, but also gave a slight smile, despite herself. "What can I get you fine fellows?" she asked, clearly used to the chaos surrounding them.  
"Give us 4 firewhiskey's and 5 shots, would'ya?" he replied.  
"Five?" James inquired, lifting his hand to count off who was with them. His pondering went left unanswered, though, as Sirius was still flirting with the cute bartender.  
"Any particular poison preference?" she asked.  
"Alliteration aside, I'll let you pick...surprise me!" he winked at her and flashed him a smile as she said,  
"Coming right up!"  
As she turned away to get their drinks, James looked at Sirius.  
"You know what the word 'alliteration' means?" he asked, clearly mystified at Sirus' wisdom.  
Sirius threw him a scathing look, "Oh shut up, Potter!" James grinned and they turned as the bartender appeared again, this time balancing a full tray on her right hand. She placed a row of shot glasses in front of the opened firewhiskey bottles and pulled out a large bottle of vodka.  
"Excellent choice!" Sirius cried as she ran the bottle along the tray, filling each glass as she went.  
"That'll be 7 Galleons even, boys," she said, and Sirius handed her several coins, plus a nice tip. She nodded, smiled and walked off down the counter to help someone else.  
"Why five?" James shouted.  
"Because," Sirius replied, picking the end shot up and handing it to his friend. "The extra one is for you! Mr. Big Stuff, getting all promoted and such," he laughed and James took the drink from him.  
"I'm gonna kill you if I do anything stupid tonight," he yelled. Then he sighed, lifted glass to his lips, and threw his head back. James winced just a little as the liquid stung his throat, and he licked his lips as he slammed the empty glass onto the counter. "Happy now?" he asked.  
"Ecstatic!" Sirius replied. "Let's go!" He grabbed the tray and held it high above his head as they traveled back through the crowd of sweaty dancers and found the table Remus and Peter has saved for them.

"To James' promotion, may there be many more in near future!" Remus said, holding up his shot glass and toasting to James.  
"TO JAMESSS!" Sirius screamed, following suit, a huge grin on his face. Peter hesitantly lifted his shot glass as well, and James picked his up.  
Sirius cocked an eyebrow, and all at once, James, Remus and Sirius threw back their drinks. Peter sipped his and coughed, setting the drink back down on the table and pushing it away.  
'Wooo-hooo!" Sirius yelled, pounding the table with his fists. Then he turned to James and looked him in the eye, as if to tell him something very important. "You should get promoted more often, mate!" He grinned and smacked James on the shoulder, who just shook his head and smiled as Sirius took a big swig from his bottle.

- - - -

Back at the house, Lily was on the phone in the kitchen, finishing up a large order of take-out from the pizza place down the road.   
"Thank-you," she chimed and hung up the phone, rubbing her hands together and letting a huge grin spread across her face. It felt like forever since they had had a real all-girls night together and Lily was really looking forward to having all of her friends back in one place again. Just as she was thinking this, the doorbell rang. Lily sprinted down the hallway towards the front door. Whoever had pushed the button had continued to hold it down, because the cling of the bell resounded through the house as Lily reached the door.  
Lily opened the door and saw Carmen standing across from her, her finger pressed firmly on the button.  
Lily laughed. "I should'a know, Carma!" she yelled, and her friend let go of the doorbell and launched herself onto Lily.  
"God, I missed you sooo much!" she squealed as they let go and Lily closed the door behind her friend and they walked down the hall to the kitchen.  
"Aw, I missed you, too. I feel like it's been forever, has it been forever?" she asked, still unable to remove the grin from her face as she popped open a bottle of red wine. Carmen placed two glasses on the countertop and Lily poured them each a hearty glass.  
"I think it might just have been forever," Carmen replied, also smiling. "Cheers."  
They clicked their glasses together, and just as they began to sip, the doorbell rang again.  
"That'll be Liz, she left just after I did" Carmen explained, following Lily back down the hallway.  
Sure enough, when Lily pulled open the door a second time, Liz was standing across from her.  
"Come in!" Lily cried, and stood back to give Liz room to enter before they hugged as well.  
"Ok, so, for our 'all-girls no boys allowed' night," Lily started, and Liz couldn't help but giggle remembering the great evenings they had had like this during their years at Hogwarts. Lily continued, "I have recently placed an order for 3 large pizzas and I have wine and enough sappy girly movies to last us through the night. I expect all food and drink to be gone by the end of evening, got it?" she turned to Liz now who smiled.  
"Why not have a glass or two, we're celebrating a most joyous reunion, right!"  
"That's the spirit!" Carmen yelled. "Load 'er up!"

- - - -

Meanwhile, back at the bar the boys were well on their way to forgetting tonight tomorrow morning. They had all finished their firewhiskeys as well as another round of shots (Sirius had insisted) and their inhibitions about the evening were quickly cast to the wind.  
"LET'S DANCE!" roared Sirius, jumping up from the table as soon as he said it, a huge grin on his face as if he had never come up with a better idea in his life. James and Remus stood up as well, and James looked around for Peter, but he seemed to have disappeared. There were two of Peter's unfinished shots on the table and Remus and James looked at them and then looked at each other (Sirius was already out on the dance floor, apparently trying to woo a group of blonde girls while flailing his arms and gyrating his hips with little success of a rhythm) before they each grabbed one drink and chucked them back.   
"Let's do this!" cried James, grinning at his friend as they stepped out to join Sirius on the floor.

Ten minutes later, the three boys were still dancing up a storm, their faces and bodies soaked with sweat from their lack of self-control and, more importantly, their lack of any idea how do dance.  
A new song buzzed across the room with a deep techno beat thumping through their skulls. James held up a finger dramatically and stiffened his body before he winked at his small audience and began bopping his head to the beat. Soon his head became his arms, and then his shoulders as he threw them back and forth unappealingly and before he knew it, James was jumping up and down, his appendages spazzing to the music in his pitiful, drunken idea of a dance move. The crowd around him was just as smashed as he was, though, and they cheered him on, loud, deep hollers from the guys and whistles from the girls. Suddenly, James landed on the ground and paused in his routine with his back bent slightly and his eyes closed. All eyes watched to see what he'd do next. He slowly pulled himself back up to a standing position, looked around at the crowd and raised both his eyebrows. His sight stopped on a short, skinny brunette girl on the other side of circle. In one swift motion, he threw his hand up and pointed his index finger at her as if to say 'You! Your Turn'. She giggled and shook her head at him as he cocked just one eyebrow and began to moonwalk out to the edge of the circle, laving the dance space open for someone else.  
As James continued to move backwards, he wasn't looking where he was going and suddenly felt himself bump into someone else with a small thud. As the person turned to see what or who had hit them, James fell off balance and went careening to the floor. His head hit the hard surface and his vision went black.

- - - -

The girls were crowded around the warm fire in the living room. Their movies were all watched and their food all eaten and just a few glasses of wine sitting around them showed that they had any of that left.  
"C'mon, let's playyyy!" squealed Carmen, not from the alcohol but just from the excitement and hyperness of a girls' night in.  
"It's so juvenile. I feel like I'm back in 3rd year," Liz protested, taking a sip of her wine to prove that she wasn't 13 any more.  
"C'mon...Lily!" she said, turning to her other friend. "You wanna play, don't you?" She gave Lily the puppy dog face and began to whimper slightly. Lily rolled her eyes and sat up, leaning against the couch.  
"Well, I don't care either way," she replied.  
"YES!" Carmen cried, taking that as an invitation to begin. She turned to Liz, who shot Lily a glare and readied herself for the game.  
"Ok, Liz: Truth or Dare?"

- - - -

Back at the nightclub, James had been moved into a back room, a wet towel placed on his head and a large glass of water waiting for him on the counter. As he came to, James could hear low murmurs and wondered quietly to himself how many people were in the room with him. After a minute or so of consciousness, he managed to gain the strength to open his eyes. He looked around the room and saw the blurry outlines of at least five or six people. _Someone must have gone and got the guys..._  
Off in a corner, he saw the small slim figure of woman and a mass of bright blonde hair on top of her head, but he couldn't make out if he knew her. He closed his eyes again for a second before trying to see them all clearly.  
As he opened his eyes again, he coughed involuntarily and all of the talk stopped suddenly, leaving a moment of eerie quietness before the blonde, curly-haired lady rushed over to him from the corner.  
"James?" She said, from what seemed like light-years away. "James?" she repeated.  
He coughed again in reply.  
"James, mate...can you hear me?" he heard Sirius' voice ask as his fuzzy outline dropped down beside the girl. He was just beginning to recognize her, putting her rough, hazy image with her distant voice.  
He tried to move his head left to see who else was there but it hurt too much and he closed his eyes again.  
"Open you eyes, James...That's it, stay with me now," the soothing voice said to him as he looked out at them once again. The woman removed the towel from his head and replaced it with a fresh, cold one. As the blonde curls bounced over him, he realized who it must be.  
"Lyla?" he wheezed.  
"Shhh…just be still," came her reply.

- - - -

Carmen strutted triumphantly back down the hallway and plopped herself down on the plush rug, grinning widely.  
"I cannot believe you just did that," Liz said, trying to look offended, but unable to hide her smile.  
"Did anyone see you?" Lily asked, giggling.  
"Yeah...a car drove by and there was some old guy behind the wheel. He looked pretty shocked, actually," Carmen replied, taking a sip of her wine.  
"Wait...black car, old man with white hair and wire-rim glasses?" Lily inquired.  
"That's the one! He had a dog in the front seat, too an-"  
"-English Cocker Spaniel." Lily finished Carmen's sentence and covered her face with her hands.  
"That's right. What's the matter...the dog didn't seem to mind," she grinned devilishly.  
"That's Mr. Durham, he lives just across the street! I see him every morning when he takes Muffy out. He waves at me and I wave back and he's so old and sweet. Oh no, what is going to think of me now?" she groaned, letting her head fall onto a pillow in shame.  
"Muffy? Is that the dog or the wife?" Carmen giggled at her own joke and Lily lifted her head contemptuously to reply.  
"The dog, Carma."  
"Ok, well...he'll get over it...It's your turn, Lily! Truth or Dare?"   
Lily thought it over for a second before opening her mouth to reply. "Truth…I don't want to land myself in trouble with all of the neighbors tonight."  
"Ok...truth...truth...hmmm," Carmen though long and deep before snapping her fingers. "Ok, got it! Lily Evans, have you ever cheated on a one Mr. James Potter?" she inquired.  
"Oh, c'mon...that's so stupid. We know Lily would never cheat on James," Liz cried. She had been hoping for a juicier question than that.  
Lily, however, was frowning. "I uh...I- anyone want some more wine?" she stammered.  
The other two looked at each other, worried expressions on their faces. It was clear that the game was over.  
"Lily," Liz whispered, astonishment grounded in her voice. "You cheated on James?"


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys…sorry it's been so long but I'll add a new chapter soon because I'm way ahead on the other site so I can add a lot here!

Also, sorry for the weird spacing…it's being stupid and annoying!

Enjoy!

Chapter 11:

James sat up, slowly eased back to consciousness by Lyla, who waved Sirius over and asked for a glass of cold water and a fresh cloth for James' head.  
"James...James? I'm right here, can you hear me?" she was watching him carefully, trying to catch his eyes with hers, but James' eyes were darting left and right.  
"James, can you-" she started to ask again, but he suddenly looked right at her and nodded. The quick jerks of his head caught him off guard and he groaned and moved to lay back down, his head falling softly on the pillow Lyla had found for him.  
"Ok, that's good...now you need to stay with me, James," she said, quietly. She tapped him on the cheek and pleaded with him to look at her. "Open your eyes, James. That's all I want, just open your eyes again."  
"Her you go," he heard Sirius' voice echo somewhere above him.  
"Thank-you," Lyla replied. There was some quiet rustling as she took whatever it was from Sirius and then James heard his friend's dying footsteps.  
_"Come back..." _he tried to whisper, but he didn't have the strength to say anything. He let his mouth hang slightly open and his head he let fall to the side slightly. He soon felt Lyla's hand cup his chin and push it back to center.  
"James.." she whispered, and he so wished to look at her, but he was sure he couldn't. "Open your eyes for me, James..."  
James swallowed hard and used all of his effort to reopen his eyes. Lyla's worried face and vivacious curls opened in front of him and he smiled. _God this is painful... _James thought to himself, fighting to stay conscious.  
"That's it, James. Now focus on me," Lyla said, her tone was firm but soft at the same time and James obliged.  
"That's it...stay here, James," she repeated, and he saw her reach her arm acrss the floor. When her hand returned, James saw she was holding a tiny silver flashlight, which she held up and smiled.  
"Ok, this will just take a second. Just concentrate on me, James."  
Suddenly, the light was shining in his left eye, like a blade cutting through his most sensitive body part. He quickly shut his eyes and leaned his head away from the light.  
"Fine," he heard Lyla's voice above him. She beckoned to some people and there was a shuffle of feet.  
Next thing James knew, someone was pushing his head up while a second person held his head straight with one hand and forced his left eye open with the other. He grunted his disapproval and tried to squirm, but they held on tight and he stopped resisting.  
"Ok, let's do this."

"Well, he doesn't have a concussion, he just needs a good nights' rest and a lot of fluids. If he starts acting odd, let me know," Lyla said, handing Remus a piece of paper on which she had scribbled her phone number.  
"How do you know all of this?" Sirius asked her.  
"I'm training to be a nurse at St. Mungos, this is basically the first thing they teach you how to determine," she replied, packing up her purse and shutting it with a click. She slung it over her arm and turned back to Remus and Sirius.  
"Oh..." Sirius replied.  
"A delightful evening, boys," she joked, raising and eyebrow at them.  
"Yeah, well, if we ever want to do it again, I have your number," Remus laughed and she smiled.  
Lyla leaned down to where James was still being propped up on the floor. He sat in front of her, his eyes open but slightly glazed as he stared across the room at a desk chair.  
"James?"  
He slowly turned his head to look at her.  
"Good-night," she said simply. Lyla was about to get up and walk away when James finally opened his mouth.  
"Lyla?" he croaked, his throat dry and scratchy. She looked at him. "You are..." he seemed to trail off, turning his focus back to the chair, but then he looked back at Lyla and finished his sentence, "beautiful."  
Lyla was still rolling her eyes when James suddenly leaned forward. It wasn't so much a kiss as James' lips crashing onto Lyla's, but she stiffened suddenly as she felt his face on hers and looked around at the other people watching, silently asking for their assistance. James, however, pulled away before they could come over. He closed his eyes, muttered, "I just wanted to tell you that..." and fell over onto Lyla's lap, apparently fast asleep.  
Lyla slowly stood up, catching James' head in hands and laying him back down on the floor, his mouth slightly open.  
She looked around and smiled. "Make sure he gets a lot of sleep." She shook her head and walked out of the room.  
Remus and Sirius looked at each other and cracked up laughing.  
"Oh. My. God." Remus said, raising his eyebrows at Sirius.  
"Let's just get this lover boy home," Sirius replied, lifting James up into his arms and walking out the door as Reus held it open for him.

"Lily?" Liz whispered, looking at her friend with sadness in her eyes.  
Lily looked up at her and Carmen, tears threatening to fall down her wobbly cheeks.  
"You cheated on James?" Carmen asked, shock echoing through her words.  
"Well...I don't know..." Lily finally replied, blinking back tears.  
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Carmen shot back, a slight bitterness in her voice. Lily prickled at her tone and she quickly realized her harshness and softened her eyes. "Sorry. So, what happened?"  
"Well..."

When Lily finished reliving the night she would least want to relive in her life, she looked around at her friends to see what they thought.  
"Oh no...no, that's not cheating. A little irresponsible, yes, but not cheating...I mean, you were hopelessly drunk and unaware of what you were doing and that" she swore loudly, making Liz jump, "took advantage. No. Not cheating." She finished, smiling at Lily, who was wiping her eyes with a tissue. She had broken into sobs somewhere in the second half of the story.  
"I agree," Liz said quickly. "Not cheating. Stupid and irresponsible, but not cheating."  
Lily smiled weakly at her friends. "Thanks, you guys..."  
"Aw, come here!" Carmen said, pulling her two friends in for a deep, strong hug. Lily's shoulders shook against her arm and she sighed and kissed her on the head. "Oh, poor Lily."  
They pulled apart from each other, Carmen and Liz each slightly wetter from Lily's tears, but smiling at her.  
"Does anyone else know?" Liz asked.  
Lily sighed and nodded her head slowly. "Yeah...yeah, Remus knows because he was at Hogwarts with me."  
"What'd he say?" Carmen asked, taking a sip of what was left of her wine.  
"He was good. He didn't blame me or anything. I dunno. I was too emotional to take him seriously. He said that I made a mistake and it would be o.k., but I have to tell James," she sighed a big sigh after this last line.  
"You do have to tell James, though," Carmen said.  
"I know," Lily nodded. "But I'm scared to tell him," she whispered.  
"If he loves you, he'll understand, and unless he's a very good actor and we never knew, he is completely smitten with you, Lils," Liz told her, patting her on the shoulder.  
Lily smiled, just a little. Carmen held her arms out and Lily fell into them.  
"Thanks, Carma. Thanks, Lizard," she said, closing her eyes and smiling.  
"Any time," Carmen told her, rubbing her shoulder and smiling across at Liz.

Lily was lying on her back on the floor, Liz and Carmen snuggled on either side of her, when she heard the door open. Hushed voices floated through the hall to her ear.  
"Shh! Quiet, Sirius. If I know those girls as well as I think I do, they fell asleep right there in the living room," Remus whispered hurriedly.  
"So?" Sirius replied loudly.  
"Quiet!" Remus chastised his friend. There was a pause and Lily heard a muffled rustling as though the boys were shifting something that they were holding.  
"I'm sorry; So?" Sirius repeated himself, this time barely above a whisper.  
"So...you don't want to wake them up, do you?"  
There was a pause while Sirius weighed his options and chose a response.  
"Is Carmen here?" he finally replied slyly, and Lily could almost see his grin in her mind's eye. She smiled and rubbed her tired eyes.  
"Don't be such a prat!" she heard Remus' voice say and she lifted Carma's arm off of her stomach and replaced it on the ground as she stood up. She pulled her shirt back down over her stomach from where it had ridden up while she rested. She sighed before walking across the living room and into the hallway.

As Lily strained her eyes to look down the dark hall, she saw Sirius and Remus, inching towards her carrying something big and oddly-shaped. It took her a moment to recognize the "object" as her living (hopefully), breathing boyfriend.  
"James?" she asked out loud, causing the boys to stop suddenly and look up. Sirius' eyes grew wide and he turned slowly to Remus.  
"Let's turn around and walk back out...maybe she didn't see us yet..." he whispered, his eyes darting quickly between Remus and Lily, who was now standing with her hands on her hips, watching them carefully.  
Remus just looked over at Sirius, his eyebrows raised and look of pure sadness on his face at his friend's suggestion.  
Lily walked down the hallway towards them; she walked right up to Sirius and slapped him hard across the side of the head.  
Sirius jerked back at her touch and nearly lost his hold on James' shoulders. "Ow! What was that for?" he cried, and Remus shushed him again.  
Lily turned to him. "Sheer stupidity," was all she said.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

"Well, I guess that's everything," James said, slamming the boot of the car after squishing in Lily's last bag of luggage.  
"Yep...I guess so," Lily replied, smiling weakly at him.  
"I'm going to miss you," James whispered, stroking her cheek with his finger.  
"I'm going to miss you, too..." Lily sighed.

"Hey, lovebirds! Care to get this show on the road!" Remus called, sticking his head out of the back window and winking at them.  
"Just a second, Remus," Lily told him, holding up her finger. She turned back to James and pulled him a little further from the car.  
"Lily?" he asked, watching her carefully.  
"James, there's something I've been meaning to tell you, but you were so excited about your big promotion and then work got all hectic and it never seemed like the right time..." she trailed off and glanced over at Remus, still waiting in the car.  
He gave her an encouraging smile and then turned back to his book to give James and Lily their privacy.  
"Well, what is it?" James asked.  
"When we were back at Hogwarts for our workshops, I kinda well...Ikindakissedanotherguybutitdidn'tmeananythingandhe'sasleezeandi'msosorry, James," she rushed through her words all in one breath and then let her eyes fall to the ground, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.  
"You what?' James asked her, his jaw set firm.  
"I'm so sorry...you have to believe me, James, I'm sorry," she threw herself on him and shook against his chest.  
James threw her back and grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked away towards the house and cried. "No, damnit, look at me!" James yelled, and Lily turned her eyes back to him; her nose was running and her cheeks were flushed. She glanced quickly around the neighborhood at all of the other houses; she now regretted choosing to do this outside where everyone can see.  
"Look at me," he ordered again, and she does. "What did you do?"   
Lily shook her head, "I'm sorry..."  
"Say it...SAY IT! C'mon, tell me to my face...say it!" he screamed as the tears course down her face. Remus has the door open, ready to intervene if he needs to.  
"I..." she spoke wobbly, gasping for a small breath. "I kissed another guy-" James let go of her and turned sharply, heading back towards the house. Lily ran after him and grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to turn him around.  
"I was drunk...I-Ididn't know what I was doing, James-"  
He slapped her hands away from his chest where they were laying. "Don't touch me," he growled, as he reached the door.  
"But, James.." she whispered.  
He looked at her, hatred searing through his eyes and burning a hole in her heart. "I don't want to hear it...and I don't want to be around you right now. Have a good term, Miss Evans."  
And with that, he stormed into the house, slamming the door behind him.  
Lily turned to see Remus standing at the end of the walkway, his hands in his pocket. She walked slowly to him and he held his arms out for her to fall into him.  
"Everything is so messed up..." she sniffled against his shoulder.  
Remus rubbed Lily's hair and rocked her side to side. "Shhh, that's it...I got you, Lily."

Remus knocked on Lily's door that night to go down to dinner. She called for him to come in and he turned the handle and entered.  
"I'll just be a sec!" she called from the bathroom.  
"Girls..." Remus muttered, shaking his head. He took a seat on the end of her bed and back backwards. Closing his eyes, he heard the sound of water running in the bathroom and rested as he waited for Lily to be ready.  
"Ok, let's go!" she said, bright and chipper as she emerged from the bathroom.  
"No...I changed my mind...your bed is too comfy," he replied, curling up on top of her down comforter.  
Lily rolled her eyes at Remus and slapped him hard on the thigh. "Get outta my bed, let's go!"  
"Oww!" he cried, opening his eyes to look at Lily. "You're abusive, you know that?" he told her.  
She just grinned and slipped on a pair of flip-flops as she turned the door handle and pulled the door open.  
"Ladies first," she grinned and he hit her lightly on the shoulder before prancing through the doorway.

They walked slowly down the halls and stairways to the Great Hall, not talking for a few minutes.  
"So...you look like you're doing better," Remus commented, and she threw him a weary smile.  
"I'm just trying to block it all out...I can't afford to be a mess right now. Students will be arriving tomorrow, classes the next day...this is real life now, Remus; I have to put on my brave face and push through it, so that's what I'm doing," she replied.  
"Well, you're a strong girl, Lils, and you know I'm always proud of you, no matter what, right?" he told her.  
"Of course," she smiled and curled her arm around Remus' waist. He lay his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close as they walked.  
"It hurts...keeping it all bottled up..." she whispered against his chest.  
"I know," he said, kissing her lightly on the top of her head and rubbing her shoulder as they entered the Great Hall.

For the next 24 hours, Lily and Remus were inseparable. They skirted the halls and turned corners whenever they saw Jason coming and Remus kept Lily's mind off of everything that was going on with games and long conversation in front of fire about nothing at all.  
Lily appreciated everything Remus was doing for her, and she was glad now more than ever that he was her friend.

The beginning of term feast went well, with opening remarks from Dumbledore and amazing food, as always. Lily and Remus sat next to each other, on the other side of the table from Jason to avoid confrontation.  
Lily and Remus also got a chance to catch up with some of their old friends who were going into their final year at Hogwarts this year. They talked about how weird it would be, now that they were teachers and their friends were still students, but Lily promised not to go all psycho-teacher on them and they smiled and congratulated her and Remus, the girls eyeing him even more now than they had last year. Lily winked at him as one of the girls in the 6th year stroked his arm as she talked to him.  
Lily shook her head, _These girls...always love a challenge, don't they?_

- - - -

Lily stood up in front of her classroom the next morning and smiled as she looked around at all of the first years fidgeting in their seats, probably just about as nervous for their first class as she was to teach it.  
"Welcome to Introduction to Transfiguration!" she said, beaming around at them. One of the small boys in front, a mop of black hair that reminded her of James' sitting atop his head, already had his notebook and quill out. He was watching her carefully, ready to jot down anything and everything she said. Lily winked at him and he turned a slight shade of pink and slid further down in his chair.  
"Ok, well, you should all know that this is my first year teaching and I am just as scared as you all must be, but I think that if we stick together, we can all make it through this year in one piece, right?" She looked around at her class; a few of the kids were nodding nervously. "And maybe," she added, picking up her wand, "We might even learn a little something we never knew before!" She tapped the book in front of her with a flourish and grinned as the kids gasped as they watched it sprout feathers and transform into a parrot right in front of their eyes. A few kids clapped and Lily laughed.  
"Ok, everyone get out your wands. Before you can do that, you need to learn a few simple things about your wands and how to use them!"

- - - -

Lily fell onto the couch in front of the fire that night and sighed at the end of her first day.  
She heard the entrance to the common room open and watched as Remus appeared out of the hallway, his hair sticking up in all directions and splotch of ink on his left cheek. He walked over and plopped down next to her, and she let him lean his head on her shoulder.  
He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "How was your first day?" he asked Lily.  
"It was great! Teaching is so much fun, I love it!" she said excitedly. She still had some energy left, something her friend seemed to be seriously lacking.  
"You?" she asked.  
"Oh, it was good...tiring though, I'll tell ya.." he replied, snuggling against Lily's shoulder, his eyes still shut.  
"Your kids' a handful?" she asked, rubbing his head.  
"Nah...the kids are great - well, except for the Slytherin's, of course - it's just a lot more work than I thought. I've got some newfound respect for all of our teachers, I'll say," he replied, sitting up and trying to fix his hair.  
"I got it," Lily giggled, smoothing his hair down with her hand. "And you got a little schmutz right there," she added, licking her finger and rubbing it against Remus' cheek.  
"Ew!" he cried out and she rubbed with her thumb. "You're gross, Lily Evans!"  
She laughed and pulled out her wand. "It's not coming off, lemme try..." and as she flicked her wand, the ink stain disappeared from Remus' skin."Looks like those "great kids" got the better of you," she giggled, throwing her legs across his lap and lying back against the couch cushion.  
"Yeah well..."  
"Oh!" she squealed, quickly sitting back up.  
"What?" Remus asked.  
"I meant to tell you...one of the students in my first year class got his match to turn into a needle on the first try!" she told him, excitement coursing through her eyes.  
"Congratulations!" Remus told her. "Must be nice having a mini-version of yourself in a class...must really bring you back," he joked, adopting a melancholy tone.  
Lily hit him on the shoulder. "Shut up!" She threw a pillow at Remus' head which hit him full on and she broke into a fit of giggles at his stunned face.  
"Oh, you are so dead!" he said, launching himself on her. The two tumbled to the ground in heap as Remus tickled Lily all over. She tried to laugh but there was no air in her lungs to make a sound, and for a second, Lily felt like everything was back to normal as it had been at Hogwarts the year before.

Jason watched Lily and Remus play-fight from his room. He studied her face as she let out round after round of giggles and scowled. He shut his door and fell onto his bed, suddenly scheming how to get her to do that with him...  
_She will be mine..._


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

The next two months, Lily concentrated on two things: keeping up with her students, and avoiding Jason at all costs. He tried to talk to her a few times after the year began, but after Remus confronted him about it, he merely stared, silently, whenever he saw her around the castle. James and Lily kept in touch with letters, and he had visited her once, but it had been awkward, as if it were an old flame, and they were not actually still in a relationship. After that, the letters became less frequent, and shorter, but he still wrote them, and she always replied.  
At the beginning of November, Lily wrote to James reminding him that they had a short, week-long break that month, and asking if she could come home to see him for it. She received the simple reply that he would be away for most of that week, and the rest he would be working. Lily got the hint, and wrote back that it was fine, but that night she went to bed early and cried herself to sleep.

"Pass the bacon, please," Remus asked. Lily didn't move; she was staring off into space, holding her coffee cup suspended in the air, halfway to her mouth.  
"Lily? Liiillyyy..." Remus tried waving his hand in front of her face. He rolled his eyes and shook her shoulder slightly. Lily blinked and turned, glassy-eyed to look at him.  
"Mhm?"  
"What is wrong with you lately?" Remus asked, reaching over her to grab the bacon himself.  
Lily closed her eyes and shook her head. "Oh, um, nothing...I'm fine!"  
She took a sip of her coffee and forced a smile.  
"You sure? You've been acting weird, and you don't look so good," Remus pressed, watching her carefully.  
"Yeah, sure...I'm good...just tired, is all," Lily finished off her coffee and stood up. "Gotta go prepare my class."  
"Bye," Remus waved.  
Lily turned back. "Hey, Remus?"  
He looked up. "Yeah?"  
"What are you doing for the break?" Lily asked him.  
Remus shrugged. "Just going back to London, I guess, why?" he replied.  
"Can I maybe stay with you?" Lily asked.  
He smiled and took her hand. "Anytime, Lils."  
"Thanks."  
"No problem," he said, standing up. He kissed her on the forehead. "Now get to class, young lady!"  
Lily giggled slightly and smiled, before turning and walking swiftly through the Great Hall.

"Are you ready?" Remus asked, as he walked through Lily's open door.  
"Well, that all depends; ready to rumble, or just ready to go? Because see, I'm done with my packing, but I might need a few more minutes stretching before I'll be ready to kick your scrawny little-"  
"Ok, ok...I get the hint," Remus stopped her as he walked over to the bed. "You're funny" he added in an undertone that sounded remarkably similar to that of the classic Beavis and Butthead characters.  
Lily took a little bow for the empty room. "Thank-you, thank-you, everyone. Yes, I'd like to thank the academy, and all the little people; yes, hello little people!" she waved to the space where the floor met the wall and winked before turning back to her duffle.  
"Har har," Remus fake laughed. "Now hurry up!" He added, hitting her lightly on the shoulder before dropping his own bag to the floor and falling back onto Lily's bed.  
"No need; I'm ready!" Lily said in a very high-pitched voice as she zipped her bag up.  
"Ohhh, but I was just getting comfortable! What a soft bedspread you have, Miss Evans," Remus joked, pretending to stroke the comforter with his hand and looking supremely happy.  
"Yes it is, isn't it? Now get up!" Lily said, smacking his thigh.  
"Owww! You hit my fat again, Lily - you know how self-conscious I am about my _thunder thighs_," he whispered the last two words behind his hand and faked that he was upset.  
"Right, right...almost as touchy a subject as your big squishy butt!" Lily asked him, pretending to be sincere.  
"Oh no you did-int!" he cried, sitting up and grabbing Lily around the waist.  
"Ahhh!" she cried. "Remus, let go, let go of me, I said-" but her words were cut off my loud round of giggles as he began to tickle her all over.  
Both Lily and Remus fell back onto the bed; he stopped tickling her and lay back.  
Lily sighed. "Remus?"  
"Mhm?"  
"Tell me we're going to have fun this week," Lily said, rolling onto her side to look at him.  
He smiled at her. "I promise."  
"Good," she announced, laying back down. "I need some fun," she added, a little sadness in her voice.  
"What do you say - five more minutes?" Remus asked.  
Lily closed her eyes and before replying. "Five more minutes."

The car pulled up to Remus' house that night, and Lily couldn't wait to get inside. The ride had been longer than usual and she had a lot of pent up energy to let loose.  
The driver came around and opened Lily's door, and she hopped out excitedly.  
"Thank-you!" she told him with a bright smile.  
The driver nodded to her, "You're welcome, Miss Evans." He shook his head and smiled as she bounded towards the house.  
Remus sighed and let himself out of the car; he went around to help the driver with the luggage.  
"Looks like you have your hands full with that one," the driver joked to Remus, nodding his head at Lily, who was hopping up and down in front of the house, waiting for Remus to unlock the door.  
"Wha- er, I mean, no. As in she's not mine - um..." Remus took a breath before trying again. "I mean, we're not dating. She has a boyfriend, we're just...friends." He told the driver, who raised his eyebrows.  
"Ok, I believe you..."  
"Reeeeemmussss!" Lily called to him and they both looked over.  
"What?" he yelled back.  
"Hurry up with the luggage and let me in!" she ordered, setting her feet down and crossing her arms. Remus just shook is head at her and her whole charade fell apart as the giggle fit began.  
"Ahem - you better go attend to your not-girlfriend-just-friend, mate," the driver told Remus; he winked.  
Remus sighed. "Alright..." and he sauntered off towards the house, the driver chuckling behind him.

The doorbell rang and Lily was out of her room and down the stairs like a shot. She had suggested that they order some Chinese food and watch a movie (she had sent Remus out to find a video store with some muggle money and a few titles scribbled onto a piece of parchment.)  
"IIII'll get it!" she yelled, joyfully as the delivery boy rang again.  
"No way, Lily," Remus said as he joined her from the kitchen. "You already paid for the mooov-thingys (movies) and you are, in fact, my guest - I will not let a guest treat the host."  
"Ah," she replied, a cunning look on her face as she reached into her pocket. "But I am the guest with the muggle money! Ha! I'm paying, now excuse me!" she said as she opened the door.

"At least let me pay you back in wizard money, Lils," Remus offered.  
"Nope," Lily replied, smacking some sauce off of her finger as she opened up the Chinese food.  
"Please?" he tried again.  
"No way, mister."  
"Lillllyyyy!" Remus was full-on whining now.  
She stopped opening containers and turned to him. "Ok, you wanna pay me back?" she asked.  
Remus sighed happily and reached into his pocket.  
"No, no...that's not what I meant," Lily cut him off and he scowled at her.  
"What then?"  
She grinned mischievously. "Got any wine?"  
Remus rolled his eyes at her. "You are too easy to please, Lily Evans."

* * *

A/N:

Hotkat114:

wellll, you'll just have to read on and see what happens. I will say that there is definite dram in the upcoming chapters! but you didn't hear it from me! lol

Tahirisolo90:

same as above...the net chapter or so may have y'all freakin' out a bit - but we all know how it ends...or do we? evil laugh lol - i love having the power. :)

thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

_"Oh, Jim! I love you so much!" the actress breathlessly told the actor as he pulled her to him._  
_"I love you, too, Sally," he whispered back, holding her tight in his strong arms. "You're the one for me - it's always been you!" he added dramatically._  
_"But-" she began and he cut her off._  
_"No buts' this time; I'll die without you!" he told her._  
_"Oh, Jim!" she breathed._  
_"Oh, Sally!" he replied._  
_Then he pulled her all the way to him and they shared a monumental kiss as the screen faded to black around them._

Lily sighed as she leaned against Remus, watching the credits roll onto the screen in front of her. She had already forced him to sit through two other chick-flick movies that night and he had behaved quite well considering. He had tried a few side remarks at the beginning of the first movie, but quickly realized that doing so would result in Lily hitting him quite hard on the leg, so he had stopped.  
Lily sniffed and Remus looked at her face; he couldn't help but smile as he saw the silent tears that were traveling down her cheeks.  
_Oh, this is too good to pass up..._he thought to himself.  
"Lily?" he whispered in her ear, grinning all the while. She turned around to face him.  
"Yeah?" she replied quietly.  
"Lily...you are so special to me," he told her in his most dramatic voice. "I don't care what anyone else says - we should be together. You're the one for me..." he whispered.  
Lily rolled her eyes at him. "Remus, stop-"  
He took her hand and held it against his chest. "Can't you feel that? My heart beats only for you - you're it, the one for me!"  
But as he said it, Remus noticed that there was a quickening in his heartbeat, and his breath was coming faster and faster. He hoped that Lily didn't notice.  
To his delight, she seemed to have decided to play along.  
"Oh, but Remus!" she cried, throwing her head back and laying her free hand on her forehead as an added flourish.  
"Lily!" he replied. He reached up and pulled her arm back and she looked back at his face. He took both of her tiny hands in his large ones and held them together between their bodies.  
"You know that we can't be together - they'll kill us!" she told him.  
"I don't care! I love you and I can't live without you; we need to be together!" Remus had fallen into a subconscious reality, but Lilly didn't seem to notice. "Forget everyone else - just think about us."  
"I love you!" she cried.  
He sighed happily, "and I love you."  
Then he began to lean forward. Lily could feel his breath hovering warm on her face and there were suddenly butterflies in the pit of her stomach. _What is going on? _she asked herself, trying to suppress the feeling. Remus seemed to have paused, as if offering her the chance to stop what was about to happen, but Lily just sat there, staring into his waiting eyes.  
And then, quite suddenly, Remus pressed his lips against Lily's. He kissed her softly, and she kissed him back. Her head was screaming at her, but her body wouldn't stop. And then, just as quickly as it had started, it was over and Remus was pulling back from her.  
He watched her carefully, trying to gauge what she was feeling.  
"Lily...I'm so sorry," he whispered.  
Lily swallowed, trying to gather her thoughts. She just shook her head in reply.  
"Lils...what are we doing?" he asked her.  
Lily looked up at him. "This," she told him, and then she put her arm around the back of his head and pulled Remus back to her. Lily kissed him hard and passionately, and Remus fell easily into the embrace. In one swift motion, he lifted her off of the ground and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom.

- - -

_Ding dong!_  
Remus heard the doorbell go off in its sing-song way the next morning and groaned as he opened his eyes. He glanced at the alarm clock to find that the time was just past nine o'clock. As he sat up, Remus felt Lily's arm slide off of his stomach and he sighed. Last night had been great, that was for sure, but he also knew it had been a big mistake, and he was not looking forward to the talk they would have to endure.  
_Ding dong!_  
The bell went again and Remus cursed it silently. He slid out from under the covers, trying not to wake Lily.  
_Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong...!_  
Whoever was at the door was beginning to get impatient. _It's probably Sirius..._Remus thought to himself, although he did have his doubts due to the early hour.  
The bell continued to go as he pulled on a pair of fresh boxers and yawned widely. Lily made a noise and turned over on the bed. Remus looked back at her before walking out into the hallway.

_DING DONG! _the ring continued, impatient now.  
"Yeah, I'm coming!" Remus yelled loudly enough for his visitor to hear on the other side of the door. This, however, did not stop the persistent ringing.  
Remus reached the door and pulled it open.  
Sure enough, there was Sirius, looking awfully cheery for nine AM, his right finger frozen next to the doorbell, his left hand holding his wand as he levitated two coffees and a bag of pastries in front of him. He was grinning broadly.  
"Good morning!" he chimed.  
Remus nodded at the floating items. "Way to be obvious to the muggle neighbors, idiot." he said, reaching out to take them.  
"_Way to be obvious to the muggle neighbors, wah wah wah," _Sirius replied in a mocking tone. Remus rolled his eyes and stood back to let his friend in.  
"Besides," Sirius began as the door shut behind him. "How can you be so bitter this morning considering you clearly got lucky last night," he winked as he looked Remus' attire -or lack thereof- up and down.  
As if to answer Sirius' question, the two heard footsteps as someone made their way down the stairs.  
"Ahhh, the mystery woman," Sirius said, excitedly as he turned to see who it might be.  
"Oh no..." Remus whispered.  
"Remus?" a familiar voice called down to him. "Remus, who is it?" A second later, Lily appeared at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in one of Remus' large shirts. She stopped suddenly as she saw Sirius standing and her eyes grew wide.  
Remus closed his eyes and shook his head; Sirius was silent, staring dumbstruck between Lily and his red-faced friend.

---

Sirius stared back and forth between two of his best friends in the world - he could not believe what he was seeing.  
"I think I need to..." he started.  
"Sit down?" Lily offered. Sirius looked up at her with dazed eyes. He nodded. Remus went to get a glass of water while Lily led Sirius to the living room.

A few minutes later, it appeared as though Sirius was composed enough to talk about it.  
"Sooo..." he said, sipping his water carefully, clinging to glass like a lifeline.  
"Yeah..." replied Remus; it was all he could think of to say.  
Lily just bit her lip like she did when she was nervous.  
"How, how long?" Sirius managed to get out.  
"Oh, last night was the first - I mean, the only time!" Remus replied quickly.  
"We promise!" Lily chimed in, as if Remus' story needed backup.  
"And are you guys..." Sirius looked between them.  
"Oh no! Nonononononono...no!" Lily responded, a blush creeping into her cheeks.  
Sirius nodded slowly and sipped his water.  
"Have you told..."  
Remus shook his head. "Not yet."  
"Are you going to..."  
Lily and Remus turned to look at each other before Lily answered. "We haven't actually talked about it yet..." she said quietly.  
"Yeah, you kind of…woke us up," Remus added.  
"Right...right...ok.." Sirius sighed deeply and stood up. He paced for a few moments and then stopped, pointing down the hall to the door, an odd expression on his face. Remus and Lily followed Sirius to the door.  
He turned to face them both and sighed again. He looked Lily square in the eye and said the same words Remus had told her back in the car so long ago. "I won't tell him, but you should."  
The words ripped through Lily like a knife. She nodded and Sirius forced a small smile. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and he looked over at Remus. "God, I hope you guys work this all out," was the last thing Sirius said before turning and walking out the door.

---

Lily sighed as she sat down on the couch. She heard Remus coming in from the hallway.  
She looked up. "What are we going to do?" she whispered.  
"Well, first I think maybe you should put on some real clothes so that doesn't happen again," Remus replied. His voice wasn't mad, but it had an edge to it that made Lily's hair stand up. "Then, we can talk about what the hell we're going to do."  
Lily nodded and stood up. She could feel Remus' eyes boring into her back as she climbed the stairs to her room.

"Ok...ok," Remus mumbled more to himself as he sat across from Lily in the living room. "We can work this out...we just need a plan..."  
Lily rolled her eyes from where she sat on the couch. "A plan? What do you think this is, a bank heist or something?"  
Remus threw her a look. "Fine, then what do you suggest, miss Smarty Pants?"  
Lily bit her lower lip. "I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head. "Last time I told him the truth we didn't talk for weeks..." she added.  
"Yeah, I remember," Remus sighed.  
"But, it's my mess, and I guess it's me who has to clean it up!" Lily said decidedly.  
Remus shook his head. "No."  
"What?" Lily asked.  
"I said no. I can't let you two break up over this. I'll tell him that it was entirely my fault, that she shouldn't blame you. You were upset and a little drunk and I took advantage...it's my fault, I'll take the consequences," Remus sighed deeply.  
"But what if he stops talking to you, I can't-"  
"Then he does! Don't get me wrong, Lily - My friendship with James means the world to me, but you two are meant to be together, and I couldn't have your breakup on my shoulders," he finished, and it was clear that there was no changing his mind.  
Lily nodded. "Ok, thanks."  
He swallowed hard. "You're welcome." Remus looked over at Lily. "I love you, you know that?" he asked her.  
Lily looked up at him. She nodded her head, her chin wobbling. "Yes, I know. And I love you too - you're one of my best friends." A tiny tear dropped him her eye and Lily wiped it away.  
"Aww, Lils," Remus sighed. He stood up and walked over to her. Remus lifted her off the couch and gave her a big hug. Lily wrapped her arms around Remus and cried into his shoulder.  
He stroked her hair as she shook against him. "It'll be ok, I promise."

A/N:

Tahirisolo90:

Awww thanks! Sorry I kept you waiting so long for this chapter!

Hotkat144:

Haha – I meant to say 'DramA' not 'Dram' haha…yeahhh, you see what I meant now! lol


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Lily lay on her bed upstairs and stared at the ceiling. A few minutes went by and she rolled over onto her side to stare at the clock instead. The time read 6.32 - _James should be here any minute now._  
As if reading her thoughts, the doorbell rang.  
_DING DONG!_  
Lily sat up in bed and sighed deeply. "Here we go."

Lily waited up in her room while Remus talked to James alone. She hadn't seen him since she had told him about Jason, and Lily couldn't help but assure herself that this was the end of her relationship with James - not mention his friendship with Remus.  
She listened carefully for any sign that James was shouting at Remus, or the breaking of a lamp or the slamming of a door, but none of that came. Instead, Lily had to endure almost half an hour of silence, wondering what was going on downstairs.  
Suddenly, Lily heard footsteps on the stairs. She sat up in bed as a knock fell on her door. She swallowed before answering, "Come in!"  
As the door opened, Lily saw James standing across from her. His hair was more disheveled than usual - he must have been pulling on it while he talked to Remus.  
Lily couldn't stop her lower lip from quivering as she looked at James and he sighed deeply as he stood in the doorway.  
"Hi," she whispered feebly.  
James gave her a weak smile and stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and Lily moved back on the mattress to create space for him. James rubbed his face tiredly before plopping down next to her.  
James was silent for a few minutes, staring at the bedspread, at the wall, at Lily. She didn't know what to do or say, so she just kept quiet and waited for James to say something.  
Finally, he spoke. "Look, Lily," he sighed, turning to face her once again. Tears threatened to fall as Lily feared the worst.  
She bit her lip nervously and watched James as he formulated what he wanted to say.  
"Remus told me everything, not just about you two, but also what happened with the creep at Hogwarts," He told her. Lily nodded and wondered where James was going with this. "Look, I realize now that I maybe overreacted when you told me about Jason, and the way I acted after you told me clearly didn't help our relationship at all," he almost smiled as he said it.  
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I won't forget what you did with Jason, and I certainly won't forget what you did with Remus, but I can forgive you for that. I understand now that you had to make some stupid mistakes to get us here, but I think that - in the end - this will make us stronger," he took Lily's hands as he talked to her; Lily's face was glistening with tears.  
"I want to be with you, Lily, and if you promise that this is the end of the stupid mistakes, then we can go back to the way we were before all this happened, ok?" he asked her.

Lily sniffled loudly. She nodded her head and managed a small, "Yes."   
"Well good, because I don't think I could have lost you, Lily!" James told her. Lily smiled as the tears ran down her cheeks. "I love you," he told her.  
"I love you, too!" she replied. James wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs and caressed her skin. Then he pulled her to him and they kissed.  
"I missed you so much," Lily whispered against his ear as he hugged her close. He rubbed her hair and smiled.  
"I missed you, too."

--

"James! We're going to be late!" Lily called from the bathroom. She was putting in her new pair of earrings and fixing her makeup for the final time. "James!" she called again.  
Lily looked in the mirror and smiled. She smoothed down her dress across of slim figure and walked out into the bedroom. Picking up her purse, Lily slipped her heels on and sprayed a spritz of perfume.  
"JAMES!" she yelled out into the hallway. A second later, James appeared in the doorway of their bedroom, half a sandwich in his hand, the other half in his mouth.  
"Wa? I'hm rhedfy," he said, accidentally spraying bits of turkey onto the carpet.  
Lily saw him and sighed. "Why are you eating that now?" she asked.  
James swallowed and nodded to the sandwich. "This?"  
Lily put her hands on her hips and tapped her toe as if to say, "Yes, that! What else?"  
James got the hint. "I was hungry," he explained, taking another large bite.  
Lily shook her head. "James, we're going out to eat," she reminded him, stepping carefully across the carpet in her heels towards him. James swallowed his bite and plopped the remainder of the treat in its place. "I'hm ahware!" he replied, trying to sound sophisticated but instead sounding even more stupid than usual.  
"Let's go..." Lily sighed, walking past him out into the hallway.

"Do you have your wallet?" Lily asked as they reached the door.  
James licked the crumbs off his face before replying. He felt in his back pocket. "Check!" he announced, very pleased with himself.  
"Well done," Lily told him in a condescending tone.  
"_Well done, meh meh meh mehhhh," _James responded in a similarly mocking tone.  
Lily hit him lightly. "You are so immature!"  
"_You are so immature_!" James repeated.  
Lily disregarded this and turned to face him. "You got crap on your face," she told him, rubbing the mustard off with her finger, "And your clothes are wrinkled!" She sighed heavily.  
James dropped his mocking voice. "What - I'm not allowed to sit down tonight!" he asked.  
"No," Lily simply shot back. "Now get your coat."  
James used one hand to grab his coat and grinned as he used the other to grab Lily's tush. She gave a little squeal and turned to face him, her hand on the doorknob. "James!" she yelled, but she was smiling. Then under her breath she added, "I can't take you anywhere..."

When Lily opened the door, she saw Sirius standing across from her, his finger poised to press the doorbell. He stared back at Lily for a second, and then noticing the way they were dressed, he lowered his finger. A blush crept into his cheeks.  
"Hey, er, guys..." he said awkwardly.  
"Hello, Sirius," Lily replied coolly. "Can we help you with something?" she asked.  
Sirius looked up at James. "Dude, what are you doing here?" the latter asked the former, his eyebrows raised.  
"You uh..." Sirius leaned into whisper something to James. "You said we were going out tonight." He pulled back and James laughed softly.  
"I meant Lily and I "We", not you and me "We"...idiot!" he added, and Lily worked to suppress a laugh.  
"Oh," Sirius' face fell visibly.  
"Wow..." was all Lily could get out through her giggle fit.  
"Ok man, we'll call Carmen and see if she can be ready to go, and we'll swing by and pick her up - since you got all dolled up and everything," James told Sirius, motioning to his crisp button-down and tie. "We'll make this a double-date, ok?"  
Sirius nodded, embarrassed. "Ok."  
"I'll call," Lily told them, walking back into the house.  
James looked over at Sirius. "Well come in, mate!" he told him, shaking his head and chuckling.  
Sirius stepped through the doorway. "Shut up!" he said, hitting James on the arm, who was still shaking with laughter.

--

"Can I take your order?" the waiter asked as he appeared at the table. Lily looked up from her menu and around the table.  
"Uhh, I'm going to need another second or two; why don't you guys start if you're ready," she offered Sirius and Carmen.  
"Ok - I will have the duck and a small garden salad with the dressing on the side, please," Carmen told the waiter.  
"A great choice - our duck is excellent!" he told her with a smile.  
Sirius gave him a mean stare and jumped in. "Yes, well, I will have the duck as well, but is there any chance I can get fries on the side instead of a salad?" he asked seriously.  
"Sirius!" Carmen chastised his childish order.  
Lily held back a giggle and James just shook his head.  
"What!" Sirius replied, but a small blush managed to creep into his cheeks and he scowled in the direction of his napkin.  
The waiter just smiled. "Of course we can do that for you, uh, _sir_," he told Sirius.  
"Thanks..." he mumbled to the table in a disgruntled tone.  
The waiter turned to James. "And for you, sir?" he asked.  
"Yeah, can I please have the soup for starters and the lamb for the main course. Extra mint jelly, please," James replied, looking up from his menu.  
"Very well," the waiter said. He looked at Lily, "And for you, miss?"  
"I think I'm just going to start with a side salad and I'll have the pasta with alfredo sauce for the main course," she told him.   
"Yes, ma'am," the waiter replied, and he flashed Lily a smile as well. James saw this, but reacted much better than Sirius had, simply placing his arm around Lily's shoulder and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She smiled over at him and the waiter's face fell.  
Carmen collected the menus and handed them to him. "Thank you!" she said cheerily before taking Sirius' hand. The waiter nodded and sulked off towards the kitchen while Sirius beamed.

--

"Ughh, I'm so full!" Sirius exclaimed at the end of the meal. He wiped his chin with his napkin and placed a few more fries in his mouth. The kitchen staff had had to search high and low to find Sirius some ketchup for his fries.  
"Then why are you still eating?" Lily asked him, raising her eyebrows.  
Sirius shrugged. "I hate leaving food on a plate," he answered.  
"Then take it home with you...God knows you can't embarrass us any more tonight," Lily added, rolling her eyes.  
Sirius shot her a look, but she smiled. "Cold, soggy fries? No thank you!" Sirius replied, and the girls giggled.  
"I'm going to go to the bathroom before we leave," Carmen announced. "Lily, you want to come with?" she asked, standing up.  
Lily nodded and moved her seat back. "Definitely!" she replied, also getting up.  
James nodded his head and Sirius swallowed the food in his mouth.  
"Ok...go to the bathroom..." Sirius told them as the girls looked at him. They rolled their eyes and turned to leave. "We'll just be here...talking about you!" He added, having to yell the last three words as they got further and further away.  
James looked over at his friend and sighed. "And I'd forgotten why it is that we can never take you out," he joked.  
Sirius made a mad face. "Ok c'mon...you know you love me!"  
James shook his head," No, I don't!"  
"C'mon, Jamsie, crack a smile! Let me see those teeth," Sirius provoked James loud enough to make other people stop eating and look over. An old woman shook her head and muttered something about "hooligans..." before turning back to her salmon.  
James finally gave in and cracked a smile.  
"On second thoughts, don't smile," Sirius laughed.  
"Shut up!" James told him, still grinning.

James left a tip on the table and the guys waited by the doors for their girls.  
"Where are you guys going now?" James asked Sirius and Carmen, once the girls returned from the bathroom.  
Sirius put his arm around Carmen's waist. "I think we're just going to go back to my place..." he told them.  
"What a good idea!" Lily replied, squeezing James' hand. She wanted a little alone time with James to get their relationship going again, and she was getting a little anxious after their 'just the two of us' dinner had been squashed.  
James got the hint. "Uh, yeah...us too!" he said.  
"I'll call you tomorrow, Lily!" Carmen called as Sirius led her out through the doors. "We'll go shopping before you have to back to sch-ool!" she squealed the last word as Sirius pinched her side.  
Lily giggled and waved them goodbye as she and James walked out into the night to find some place to apparate home.

**A/N:**

**I finished this story, so the chapters will be coming quicker once I get back from Penn. On Thursday – ENJOY!**

**Jes xo**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

Lily and James spent the next few days rekindling the almost-dead embers of their relationship. James managed to wiggle out of a few days' work, promising extra hours the next week, and Lily was still on break from school.  
The bliss had to end at some point, though, and before she knew it, Lily was repacking her suitcase to head back to school.  
"I don't want you to go!" James whined from the bed.  
I know, I don't either," Lily replied as she dragged her suitcase out of the closet. She dumped it on the floor and walked over to the bed. "But I have to...those kids just won't teach themselves - trust me, I tried!" she said, laughing, and James cracked a smile. She kissed him. "I love you."  
He sighed. "I love you, too...I suppose..." he added, cheekily.  
Lily smacked him on the chest. "James!"  
"Owwww!" he exclaimed, rubbing his chest. "Vicious!"  
Lily cuddled herself into James' lap and looked up at him with puppy eyes. "But you know you love my _love taps_," she crooned. James laughed.  
"Love taps - yeah, right!" he replied.  
Lily hit him with a pillow.  
"That's it! You're going down, Miss Evans!" James roared, lifting her easily in his strong grasp. James dropped Lily down against the pillows and she screamed with delight.  
"Jamesssss!" she yelled, but she had a huge smile on her face. James jumped on top of Lily and began tickling her.  
"J-jam-jamessss!" Lily yelled, hardly getting a word out in between giggle fits as James attacked her stomach and neck with his fingers. "Alright, alright!"  
James paused, his hands still on Lily's bare skin, ready to pounce. "Alright what?" he asked slyly.  
Lily took a few deep breaths before replying. "You win..." she said, grimacing.  
"Yes!" James jumped up on the bed. "Victory!" he called to no one in particular. Lily rolled her eyes as James held his arms up over his head. "Potter is champion!" he yelled, stopping only to make the raspy sound of the "crowd" cheering him on.  
"Get down here!" Lily told him. James looked over at her and grinned.  
"Sore loser, Lily?" he asked, plopping down beside her.  
"Only when you act like a gigantic butthead afterwards!" she replied.  
"Language, Miss Evans! What will the children think!" James chastised. Lily smiled up at him.  
"Come here," she said, pulling him to her by the shirt.

James nuzzled his mouth in the crook of Lily's neck and bit her lightly, making loud animal noises to accompany his nips.  
"James!" Lily squealed and broke into a giggle fit.  
"Oh, God; here she goes again," James said. "I swear, you laugh more than anyone I have ever met!"  
"It's not a bad thing! Now get off of me; I have to pack!" Lily announced, pushing James off onto the other side of the bed and standing up.  
James made a noise behind her. "I hate Hogwarts," he announced.  
"No you don't," Lily replied without turning around.  
"No...but I hate you!" he said, changing his mind.  
Lily sighed. "No, you don't."  
James was playing with the comforter on the bed. "No...I guess I don't" he ceded, rolling off the bed.  
He walked over to Lily, who was sorting through some shirts she had pulled out of the drawer. James wrapped his arms around Lily's stomach and kissed her neck. "I hate that you have to leave," he whispered against her ear.  
Lily frowned and sighed. "I hate it, too," she told him. She turned her head and gave James a quick kiss. "But I have to go..."  
She walked over to her bag carrying a stack of shirts.  
"No you don't!" James said, bounding over. "Not if you don't pack! If you never pack, you don't - can't go!" he told her.   
Lily sighed. "James, you're being childish - I have to go back." She placed the shirts in the bag and turned to a pile of jeans sitting on the bed. When she turned back, the shirts were gone from the bag and James was smiling evilly.  
Lily rolled her eyes and put the pants in her suitcase. "James, give me the shirts," she said firmly.  
He shook his head. "No."  
"Yes."  
"No."  
"Ok, now it's you who is in trouble!" Lily yelled, jumping on top of him.  
"Ahhh, one slight flaw, Miss Evans," he told her.  
Lily paused. "And what is that?"  
"You forget that I'm not ticklish like you are," James replied matter-of-factly.  
"Ahh, but I think you may have overlooked one thing as well," Lily told him, cocking an eyebrow evilly.  
"And what would that be?" he asked.  
Lily reached across the floor, careful not to lose her grip on James' legs with her own. She came back with-  
"Perfume!" James said the word like it was venom in his mouth. "You wouldn't dare!"  
Lily smiled. "Oh, wouldn't I?" she taunted.  
"Lily..." he warned.  
"You better watch out, Potter: I'm armed," she pulled off the perfume bottle top and grinned, "and dangerous!"  
"You won't do it," James told her, crossing his arms across his chest.  
"Oh, yeah?" Lily held the bottle over James' face and his eyes grew wide.  
"No!"   
"Ooooh, yes!" Lily pushed her finger down on the top of the bottle, and a spray of scented perfume flew in James' face. He let out a scream and closed his eyes.  
"EVANSSSSS!" he yelled.  
"Hm?" she answered, innocently.  
"You are **so** dead!" James cried as he flipped her over and climbed in top of her, trying to wrestle the perfume out of her hands.  
Lily's yells and giggled echoed through the empty house.

--

James had his arms around Lily's waist as they said good-bye at the car. Remus was sitting in the back, staring the other way.  
"Are you sure this is ok?" Lily asked, nodding in Remus' direction.  
James smiled. "I trust you - both of you," he told her.  
Lily grinned. "I love you so much," she told him.  
"I love you, too," he replied. James kissed her hard on the mouth and pulled away. "I'll miss you!" he whispered.  
"I'll be back at Christmas," she reminded him.  
"Bye," James said, squeezing Lily's hand hard before letting it go. He turned and walked back towards the house.  
"Bye!" Lily called as she opened the car door and slid into the back seat. She rolled the window down just as James reached the door. He turned and smiled, and waved to them as the car pulled away from the curb.

--

October melted into November and the wind began to chill. Leaves began to change colors more rapidly on the tall trees surrounding Hogwarts and excited whispers began buzzing through the student body about the upcoming Christmas Ball; who was taking whom, and who was wearing what.  
Lily smiled as she walked past group after group of giggling girls in the hallways.  
"I heard Sally Darling was asked by Rick Smith and she totally turned him down because she's waiting for Will Bennet to ask her instead!" one girl with curly brown hair was whispering loudly to a large group of girls.  
"No way's!" and "Oh My God's!" echoed around the circle until one brave girl spoke up.  
"I heard that Will is already taking Sandra Grey," she said, matter-of-factly.  
The onlookers gasped.  
"But isn't he dating Elizabeth Dodds?" one girl asked.  
"I guess not anymore!" the brown-haired girl replied, and they all squealed.  
Lily just smiled as she past them and thought back to the days when she, too, sat around with her friends talking about boys and dances and dresses. In some ways, she missed it, in others, she was glad to be rid of the whole thing.  
Lily continued down the hall, and as she passed a small huddle of boys, she couldn't help but listen in on what they were saying.  
One boy with sandy hair and freckles was half hiding his bright red face in his hands. Another boy was trying to make him feel better while the rest laughed loudly at his misery.  
"I can't believe I did that!" he was saying, loud enough for Lily to hear.  
"It'll be ok, man...everyone will forget by tomorrow," the other boy was telling him. Just then a group of girls walked by. As they saw the first boy, they paused and then pointed and began giggling and rushed off to gossip about it.  
The sandy-haired boy burst out crying and ran away up the stairs, much to the delight of his friends.  
One of them turned to another and grinned. "Hey, did I tell you that I'm taking Amber James to the dance?" he bragged.  
"You already asked her?" the other asked.  
"Well, not yet, but is she really gonna say no?" he replied. The second boy laughed and high-fived the first.  
Lily rolled her eyes and sneakily pointed her wand at the boy's bag. She whispered an incantation and grinned.  
"Alright, man, time for class," the boy said. He reached down and picked up his book bag, and as he did, the seam split on the bottom and everything fell out onto the floor. The boy yelled out a loud obscenity, which made a teacher come running. She slapped the boy with a detention and told him to clean up his mess and get to class. The boy scowled as he lifted his bag; Lily grinned as she continued up the stairs to her office.

--

Lily was still smiling as she opened the door to her office. She dropped her mail and some class notes onto her desk and waved her wand at the kettle to start it boiling for tea. She didn't see Jason looming in the shadows.

Lily looked up as she heard the familiar and chilling _Click! _of a door being locked. Her heart began to pound, but she told herself to keep her cool and she stood up and turned around.  
"Who's there?" she called out, even though the room was not large enough to need a yell.  
There was a chuckle in one of the corners and Lily's eyes darted to the sound. She saw an outline, but couldn't make out a face.  
Then he spoke. "Lily Evans...or should I say Potter? I heard you two lovebirds made up - pity."  
Lily's squinted her eyes in hatred as she heard the familiar voice and her heart suddenly stopped pounding as the heat built up in her face.  
"Jason," she spat through gritted teeth.  
He walked out of the shadows, grinning visibly. Lily took a step back, and then rethought the move and stood her ground.  
"Lillian."  
"Nobody calls me that - why would I let you?" she cringed involuntarily at his smile. Then she pointed to the door, not taking her eyes from his for a second. "Now, _leave_," she ordered, coldly but with force.  
"Not until you promise me," he walked closer to her as he spoke, "a dance at the ball." He finished and took her hand in his. Lily jerked out of his grasp but stayed where she was. The feel of his breath near her made Lily want to vomit, but she wouldn't back down and give him the satisfaction.  
"Never, you pig," she replied, coolly.  
"Oh, I think you might want to reconsider, Miss Evans," he told her, stepping even closer.  
"Well, I think you might want to back off, _Mr. Camden,_" Lily mocked.  
"Yeah, why is that?" he whispered in her ear.  
Suddenly, Lily turned around to face Jason, stepped hard on his foot to distract him before punching him once in the gut, giving him a sharp upper-cup to the chin and finally using the side of her hand to deliver a final blow to his neck.  
Jason crumpled to the floor. Lily checked his pulse to make sure he was ok, and then his pupils to check that he was out and then smiled as she stood up and looked down at him.  
"Because you don't mess with the daughter of London's finest Policeman and an angry feminist who teaches self-defense courses on the weekends!" she informed the unconscious pervert.

Lily stormed back and forth across Dumbledore's office, fuming at what she was hearing. Jason lay, still out cold, on a sofa in the corner.  
"What do you mean you can't take any action!" Lily yelled.  
Professor Dumbledore was sitting quietly behind his desk, Professor McGonagal fidgeting by his side.  
"It's gross and _despicable_ and he should be FIRED! I mean, am I the only one seeing this for what it really is: a complete disregard for another human being, her feelings, rights and basic protection? AM I?" Lily was spitting mad and red in the face.  
"Miss Evans, if you please," Dumbledore spoke up, nodding to the chair across from him.  
Lily threw him a glare, but pulled out the seat - quite violently - and sat with her arms folded squarely across her chest. She had never been this angry at anyone in her life, not even James, and she could never remember a time ever being mad at Dumbledore.  
"Now that you are being a little more rational..."  
Lily made a noise under her breath to show her contempt.  
"Lily," McGonagal said, speaking up. "We really would do something if we could." Lily rolled her eyes like a 7-year-old. "But the fact is, Mr. Camden has been reprimanded for the previous incident - however, because he didn't touch you or put you in any actual physical danger, we cannot take any action against him -"  
"That's because I knocked him out before he had a chance to touch me!" Lily jumped in, outraged.  
"Yes, most impressive, by the way," Dumbledore piped up, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.  
"Thank you sir...but I'm still very angry!" Lily replied.  
"I can assure you, Lily, that he is walking a very, _very_ fine line, -"  
"That's not good enough!" Lily said, jumping up and storming towards the door. She pulled it open and flew down the spiral stairs, her legs carrying her as fast as they could as far as they could away from Dumbledore's office.

Minerva hung her head and sighed. Se looked over at Dumbledore.  
"Well, he's really gotten himself into trouble this time, hasn't he," she mused.  
Dumbledore nodded. "He has."  
"Stupid boy!" McGonagal cried, sighing deeply.

As Lily raced down the hallway, she turned a corner and was shocked to see a pink-faced James standing across from her. She lunged at him without thinking, and tears began to fall down her cheeks.  
"Lily!" he cried. "Are you alright?"  
Lily pulled her head back to look at him. "I'm ok - but how did you know?" she asked.  
James smiled. "News travels fast around here - you of all people should know that!" Lily cocked her head, not quite understanding. "Remus found out and contacted me. I got here as quickly as I could."  
Lily smiled through her tears.  
"I'm so glad you're ok!" James said, kissing her on the forehead. "Now where is that jerk!" he yelled, pulling away.  
"No, James!" We'll sort it out later...I just want to be with you right now..." Lily told him. "Please?"  
James smiled and pulled her close. "Of course..." he replied as he hugged her shaking body.

--

**A/N**

**There are two chapter left to this fic and they'll go up soon, but I want to give people time to read this chappie first.**

**Hope you liked it**

**Jes xo**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

Lily rolled over under the comforter and smiled. She felt next to her and her hand hit an empty mattress. Sitting up just as James appeared from the other room; she sighed and fell back down.  
"Hi," he said, quietly as buttoned his shirt back up.  
"You're leaving?" It was more a statement than a question, but Lily asked it anyway.  
He nodded and sighed. "Yeah."  
"Work?" she asked, knowing the answer.  
"Always."  
Lily placed her head on the pillow and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent James' cologne had left there.  
"But," James added, walking over to the side of the bed and taking a seat. He stroked her hair as Lily watched him, her emerald eyes breaking his heart with every blink. "I hear you have a big ball coming up here soon." Lily brightened as she saw where he was going.   
"And I was wondering, if you don't already have a date - or, you know, 8 - if you might allow me the honor of escorting you to said ball," he finished and Lily smiled.  
"But you hate dancing," she replied.  
James stopped stroking her hair and looked into Lily's eyes. "But I love you."  
"Well, in that case, I guess it'd be just plain mean to deny you a date to the dance." She giggled. "Yes."  
James grinned, and then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Missing you already," he told her.  
"I love you," Lily replied, still grinning from the bed. She watched him walked across the room and open the door.  
"Bye, Lils."

--

Lily woke up the next morning, ready to tackle whatever anyone threw at her. She thanked God for sending James to her, because she never would have gotten through that ordeal without him. She couldn't help but grinning like an idiot as she stood at the mirror brushing her teeth as she remembered his request to take her to the ball.  
_Now I have to actually get a nice a dress and put in the effort, though..._she joked inwardly.

_Knock! Knock!_  
"Coming!" Lily yelled. "It's open!" she added as she rushed in from the bathroom with a pair of socks, jumped onto the bed and pulled the socks over her feet just as Remus appeared in the doorway.  
"Oh, hey!" she said, standing as she searched for her shoes.  
"You seem good this morning...considering," he noted, closing the door as he entered the room.  
Lily now had her shoes on and turned to smile at him. "I'm not going to let it bug me," she explained. "Ooh, coffee! For me?" she asked, holding her hands out.  
Remus grinned and handed her a cup of steaming coffee. "Would I bring coffee and not have one for you? I know better than that by now, I think!" he laughed and Lily threw him a glare before grabbing her bag.  
She followed Remus out the door and across the common room. "Why'd you bother bringing coffee, though? We can just get some at breakfast," Lily asked him, sipping her drink all the same.  
Remus reached into his bag and pulled out a large stack of buttered toast in reply. "I thought we could take a walk before classes...we don't have to talk about...that - or anything...just get out of the castle before it gets too cold," he replied.  
Lily smiled and put her arm around Remus as they entered the hallway. "Sounds good to me."

A few minutes later, Lily was sitting next to Remus at the edge of the lake, nibbling the toast and sipping the coffee. Lily looked at Remus and grinned, as she watched him watching the trees that swayed slightly in the breeze.  
"Thanks," she said suddenly.  
He turned to her. "For what?" he asked.  
"Just...thanks." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  
Remus smiled and wrapped his arm around Lily, pulling her close as if to shield her from the chilly morning. He kissed her quickly on the top of the head and then went back to watching the trees as she rested easily against his chest.

--

_Knock, knock! _  
It was the weekend and Lily was knocking cheerily on Remus' door to get him up and come into Hogsmeade with her. She heard a groaning noise from the other side of the door that told her he would have to be woken up.  
_Knock, knock! _She tried again and then sighed.  
"I'm coming in!" she yelled through the door. Lily turned the handle and stepped into the room, which was still dark with the shades pulled down. Lily grinned evilly and flicked her wand at the shades. They jumped up, letting the bright sunlight of morning stream in through the windows.  
"Gahhhh!" Remus yelled, throwing the comforter over his head to block out the light.  
"This is going to be harder than I thought..." Lily said to herself.   
Suddenly, Lily jumped up onto Remus' bed and began bouncing around, yelling "Get up! Get up! Get up!" like a 5-year-old does to her parents on Christmas morning.  
"Lilyyyyyyyy! Go awayyyy!" came the muffled reply from Remus, now being crushed by Lily underneath the covers.  
"Not till' you get up! C'mon - we have a schedule to keep!" she told him, sliding off the bed.  
Remus took the opportunity to uncover his face. Lily broke into giggles at his awful bed hair.  
"Where are we going?" he asked, dreading the answer.  
"You're coming with me to pick out a dress for the dance - I have to look good for my date," she grinned and Remus sighed.  
"This is going to take all day," he whined. Then he paused and looked over at Lily. "Do you really have a schedule for shopping?" he asked.  
She shook her head. "No...that was a lie - but we do need to get going! So, get up!"  
"Fiiiine," he replied, finally giving in. Lily nodded her head in satisfaction as Remus slid out of his bed, wearing only his boxers.  
"Dancing snowmen? Really?" she asked, and it was all she could do to not break out laughing.  
Remus blushed. "My mum got them for me last Christmas," he explained. "Now get out!"

--

"Ok!" Lily said, walking out of the changing room in yet another dress. "What about this one?" she asked Remus.  
He rubbed his eyes and looked over at her as she twirled.  
Remus wrinkled is nose. "It's a little...frilly," he told her. Lily sighed.  
"I knew it. Ok, one more in this store and then we'll move on," she told him, and she lifted the bottom of the dress and started back towards the dressing room.

All of the dresses seemed to have something wrong with them: too frilly, too pink, too short, too long, too this and that. Lily was starting to get frustrated, but she cherished Remus' opinion as a guy, and she knew he just wanted to her to look as fabulous as possible for when James came.  
Finally, Lily pulled on the last dress at the last shop they could think of in Hogsmeade and walked out to show Remus.  
"What do you think?" she sighed, tired from all of the trying-on and taking-off.  
Remus looked up. "Wow..." was all he said.  
"You like it?" she asked.  
"Like it? Well, let's just saying if you and my best friend weren't madly in love with each other, than I might just have to steal you away in that thing!" he admitted, but he was grinning.  
"Really? Oh, yay!" Lily replied, and she looked at herself in the mirror. "It is quite nice, isn't it?"  
"Yes, it is...so are you going to get it?" Remus asked.  
"I think so! Thank you for helping, Remus," Lily told him, smiling.  
"Anytime," he replied.  
Lily went back to change out of the dress and appeared a minute later in her regular clothes. They paid for the dress and walked back out onto the streets.  
"Thank god that is over!" Remus exalted.  
Lily laughed evilly. "Oh no, we still need shoes."  
Remus' face fell. "Oh nooooo" he whined. Lily put a comforting arm around him and they continued down the street to look for a shoe shop.

--

The next week went by in a blur for Lily. James coming for the dance made her head spin, but it also went so slowly at times that Lily was sure time had stopped, if only to make her crazier with excitement.  
She ran her lessons as normal, and her students were all in very good moods at the tiny amounts of homework she was assigning. Remus often found Lily in the dining hall, the library or the faculty common room, staring off into space with a goofy grin on her face.

Finally, the day of the ball arrived, and Lily found herself acting like a schoolgirl all over again. The girls in her first class were twittering excitedly at the upcoming dance, whispering about their dresses and their dates. Lily cut the class short and received a cheer from the boys and girls alike. Lily was so out of it that she completely forgot about her second class, much to the delight of her students.

That night, Lily took her dress out of the closet and hung it on the dresser. She sat on her bed for quite a while, just staring at the dress; she finally managed to tear herself away from it and went to take a long, hot shower in preparation for the night.  
Several hours of primping later, Lily was fixing her makeup for the last time when she heard a knock on the door.  
"Come in! she called, expecting Remus.  
"Wow," she heard the visitor whisper behind her, and turned.  
"JAMEEEES!" she squealed as she saw him standing there next to the door. He was holding a red rose in his hands and a grin plastered across his face.  
She ran to meet him and he caught her easily in his arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Lily giggled with delight.  
James stopped and held Lily up in the air. He kissed her hard on the mouth.  
"Hi," he said,as he pulled away.  
She smiled down at him. "Hi," she replied.

--

"Oh my God!" Lily snapped out of her reverie half an hour later as she poked her head out from under the covers and saw the time.  
"James!" she slapped him on the back to get his attention.  
"Owww!" he cried out, rolling over.  
"We're late - we have to get down to the Great Hall!" Lily exclaimed, hopping out of the bed and rushing across the room to where her dress lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.  
"Not like that, you can't," James joked, sitting up in bed. Lily looked over at him and he was grinning.  
"Gross," Lily replied as she pulled the dress on and reached behind to try and zip the top up.  
"Here, let me help you," James offered, walking over to her. He easily pulled the zipper to the top of the dress and smiled. "There." He kissed Lily on the shoulder and began to look for his own clothes.  
"Hurry up, James - I'm going to the bathroom to fix my makeup and then we have to leave, ok?" Lily told him as she hurried out of the room.  
"Got it..." James replied as he lazily pulled his shirt on and doing up the buttons.

5 minutes later, James and Lily appeared at the bottom of the stairs in the Great Hall. Lily was fussing with a crease in her dress.  
They saw Remus standing by the doors and walked over to him. He was grinning.  
"Why are two late?" he asking, eyeing them.  
"Oh um...James got out of work late and I wanted to wait for him, in my...in my room!" Lily replied, but he blushed and gave away her obvious lie.  
"Uh huh...suuurre!" Remus replied. "Well, Minerva's over there and she wants to see you," he told them, pointing.  
"Thanks, mate," James said.  
He and Lily left Remus and went to find Professor McGonagall.  
"Professor?" Lily said, meekly, as they walked up behind her.  
McGonagall looked slightly flustered. "Oh, _there_ you two are," and there was a hint of annoyance in her voice. James made a face but Lily stepped on his foot and he stopped.  
"Remus said you wanted to see us?" Lily asked her.  
"Oh yes, well professors will be opening the Ball with a procession into the dance where all the students are already. When I give the signal, you and James may step in line wherever there is space and we'll all proceed with the night's event!" She was speaking very hurriedly, so Lily just nodded and turned to go, pulling James along with her.

The night went on to be a smashing success. The band that they had hired was one of the kids' favorites and many of the girls were ecstatic when they came out and the lead singer began to sing.  
James and Lily even managed to sneak away to where a row of short hedges and benches had been set up outside.

By the end of the night, everyone was exhausted, and the professors had no trouble corralling kids back into their respective dormitories on time.  
James and Lily left Gryffindor -where they had been assigned to help out- at 2 a.m. just as things were really starting to settle down. They headed back to the faculty dormitory, which was deserted, changed out of their dress clothes and fell into bed, where they were both too tired to do anything but drift into a deep, deep sleep.

--

Only few more chapter left!

Hope you liked it

Jes xo


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